Category: Chicken, Main Course
Yields:
4 Servings
Here is a spicy roast chicken made with ground spices – perfect for a thanksgiving meal or a family dinner.
Ingredients
- Dry Rub:
- To Grind Into A Paste:
Instructions
- Wash chicken thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.
- Dry roast cloves, cinnamon, pepper corns, star anise, cardamoms, fennel seeds, coriander seeds and dried red chillies in a frying pan. Let it cool for a couple of minutes.
- Now add the roasted spices into a grinder, along with the shallots or pearl onions, ginger and garlic. Adding a little water, grind all this into a fine paste. Pour the paste out into a small bowl and add some salt to taste, along a few teaspoons of olive oil.
- Sprinkle the dry rub (some salt, turmeric and red chilli pd.) all over the the chicken.
- With the help of a fork or sharp knife, make a few gashes on the chicken thighs and breast, with tearing the skin off.
- Now rub the ground paste all over the chicken and with a spatula into every nook and cavity. Flip the chicken and rub the paste on the other side too.
- Refrigerate the chicken for about 5 hours.
- Take the chicken out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to baking. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Just before baking, tuck a lemon and an onion half into the chicken cavity.
- Now tie the chicken legs with some kitchen twine and tuck the chicken wings into the back.
- Place a rack on the baking tray and rub it with some butter or oil. this will ensure even cooking. If you don't have a rack, cover the bake pan with some root vegetables and place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Place a couple of red onions into the baking pan. Now place the chicken carefully on the rack. Brush the chicken with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Bake the chicken for an hour.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the aluminium cover and cook chicken for another 30 minutes or so.
- Remove from oven and let the chicken rest, covered for about 20 minutes until ready to carve. Serve with gravy and sides of your choice.