Week 24 - Curried Roast Chicken

We have roast chicken every few weeks. I pretty much have my perfect roast sorted now and rarely step out and try something new. This recipe seemed really difference, I just loved the idea of all the various ingredients and flavours so couldn't wait to get outside of my roast chicken box. 

Get ready for a match made in heaven of flavours, from the chicken to the potatoes and even the gravy. This was something special and may be just as good as my (other) perfect roast chicken.

Book: Jamie's Great Britain

Recipe: Empire Roast Chicken with Bombay Style Potatoes

Ingredients: 

Serves 4-6

For the Chicken and Marinade

1.4 kg higher-welfare chicken

1 heaped tablespoon garlic, finely grated

1 heaped tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated

1 heaped tablespoon fresh red chilli, finely grated

1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree

1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander

1 heaped teaspoon turmeric

1 heaped teaspoon garam masala

1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin

2 heaped teaspoons natural yoghurt

1 lemon, zest and juice of

2 level teaspoons sea salt

For the Gravy

3 small red onions, peeled

1 stick cinnamon

10 cloves

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 level tablespoons plain flour

500 ml organic chicken stock

fat-free natural yoghurt, to serve, optional

For the Bombay Style Potatoes

800 g new potatoes

sea salt

ground pepper

1 lemon

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 heaped teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds

1 heaped teaspoon garam masala

1 heaped teaspoon turmeric

1 bulb garlic

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small bunch fresh coriander

Method: 

Slash the chicken's legs a few times right down to the bone. Get a roasting tray slightly bigger than the chicken, then add all of the marinade ingredients and mix together well. Put on a pair of clean rubber gloves, then really massage those flavours over and inside the chicken so it's smeared everywhere. Don't be shy! Ideally marinate overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and organize your shelves so the roasting tray can sit right at the bottom, the chicken can sit directly above it, right on the bars of the shelf, and the potatoes can go at the top. Halve any larger potatoes, then parboil them in a large pan of salted boiling water with a whole lemon for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes then let them steam dry. Stab the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken's cavity. Move the chicken to a plate.

Roughly chop the onions and add to the roasting tray along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, then whisk in the flour. Pour in the stock or water, then place this right at the bottom of the oven. Place the chicken straight on to the bars of the middle shelf, above the roasting tray. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Put another sturdy roasting tray over a medium heat and add the olive oil, the mustard and cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric – work quickly because if the fat gets too hot the mustard seeds will pop everywhere. Halve a bulb of garlic and add it straight to the pan, with the sliced chilli and chopped tomatoes. Add your drained potatoes to the tray, mix everything together, then season well. Finely slice and scatter in the coriander stalks, and keep the leaves in a bowl of water for later. After the chicken has been in for 40 minutes, put the potatoes in.

Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board and carefully peel off the dark charred bits to reveal perfect chicken underneath. Pass the gravy through a coarse sieve into a pan, whisking any sticky goodness from the pan as you go. Bring to the boil and either cook and thicken or thin down with water to your preference. Put it into a serving bowl and drizzle over a little yoghurt. Get your potatoes out of the oven and put them into a serving bowl, then serve the chicken on a board next to the sizzling roasties and hot gravy. Sprinkle the reserved coriander leaves over everything and serve with any condiments you like. 

Changes Made: Unfortunately I forgot to add the yoghurt at the end, although it was not missed it might be nice to try.

Results: Ahhhhhmazing, everything worked so well together! The chicken was lovely and tender and the mix of spices was just so good.

Next Time: Maybe some yoghurt at the end, but really it was practually perfect in every way.