Whole Tandoori Chicken

UmmAzhar's Note:

This recipe is from the BBc's "Saturday Kitchen". It goes well with spicy potatoes and coriander chutney. When I made this, I played around with a bit of the ingredients such as chili powder as I like it a bit spicy.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1 (1 ½ kg) whole chickens
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened natural yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 4 tablespoons single cream
• 2 tablespoons medium-hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon medium-hot chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 4 garlic cloves , crushed
• 2 teaspoons peeled and finely grated gingerroot

Directions:

1. Prick the chicken all over and make a few slits about 2cm/¾in long on the skin.
2. Mix all the remaining chicken ingredients into a smooth paste and rub the marinade generously all over the chicken skin.
3. Cover and refrigerate for eight hours or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
5. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and cover with foil.
6. Roast in the centre of the oven for one hour and 30 minutes.
7. Halfway through cooking, baste with a little of the marinade.
8. Remove chicken from the oven and leave in a warm place to rest for 20 minutes.
9. Carve and serve either hot or cold.
10. My tips -.
11. *** Have not included time taken to marinate as it is best to leave it overnight***.
12. ***I roasted my chicken in the oven for 40 minutes and once when done, I put it under the grill/broiler and roasted it.***.

Reviews

[NW Nikki]

I thought this was okay. I marinated it for 8 hours, but I would highly suggest overnight because mine had no taste. I increased the spice a lot, but still felt it was missing something.

[Ginger Rose]

This is a wonderful chicken recipe...we love spicy food so it went down really well in the family!

[Fairy Nuff]

This is a wonderful recipe - the tandoori mix is fabulous! I had two 1.5kg chickens so I doubled the tandoori marinade, I also cut the backbones from the chickens and flattened them out. I increased the cooking time by 25 minutes to accommodate the two chooks....took the foil off 20 minutes before the timer went off. They looked stunning and tasted even better. Served with your spicy pototoes #124381 and your coriander chutney 124383 and some pappadums. An excellent recipe and the meal was enjoyed by all. Thanks so much UmmAzhar.