Well this Indian Roast Chicken version just put the spin on plain old Roast Chicken! Don’t get me wrong, roast chook would have to be one of my all time favourites but sometimes even the staples need a little life put back in them. Lightly spiced, tender and super easy the only thing required for this delight is a little marinating time. The longer the better as this chicken was sublimely tender and finger lickin’ good!
Prep time: 20 Minutes
Marinating time: Min 4 Hours
Cooking time: 50 Minutes
$$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
Olive oil for drizzling
8 Chicken thigh cutlets, skin on and bone in
16 baby potatoes, halved (4 halves per person)
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs of ground cumin
1 tbs of ground coriander
1 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of chilli powder (optional)
1 tsp of sea salt
2/3 cup of plain Greek yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
4 tbs of greek yoghurt to serve
2 tbs of mango chutney
1 cup of coriander leaves
1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
1/3 cup of toasted almond flakes
Steamed greens (I used a mix of broccolini, brussels sprouts and peas)
Lemon wedges to serve
To prepare the Indian Roast Chicken combine the ginger, garlic, salt and dry spices in a small bowl and mix to combine. It will look a little like bread crumbs. Take half of the spice mix and place it in a large bowl with the yoghurt and lemon juice and stir well to combine. Pop the thigh fillets in and if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, use them to make sure the marinade is rubbed right into all the little nooks and crannies of the chicken thighs. Cover and marinate for at least four hours or overnight if you prefer (great one to do on a Sunday night, ready for Monday night dinner).
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Pop the potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until just tender, drain well and add a good lug of olive oil and the remaining spice mix. Pour them into a large, lined baking tray and make sure you scoop out all of the spice mix. Again, use your hands to rub the mix right into the spuds.
Add the thigh fillets to the baking tray, skin side up and nestling them in between the potatoes so that everything in the pan becomes nice and crispy and drizzle over a little more oil. Bake the chicken and potatoes for 50 minutes, turning the potatoes once or twice. The chicken is cooked in the centre when the juices run clear if you pop a skewer in the thickest part of the thigh.
Place the yoghurt in a small bowl and gently fold through the mango chutney. You don’t want to mix it completely, it is nice to see the definition between the two ingredients.
Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and allow it to rest while you steam the greens of your choice. To plate the Indian Roast Chicken, divide the greens among four serving plates and top with the thigh fillets. Place the potatoes around the plate and give the remaining pan juices a stir before drizzling them over the chicken and potatoes. Top with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and scatter over the coriander leaves, toasted almond flakes and chilli slices and serve with a wedge of lemon.
