One of my staple meals while my kids were young was a roasted chicken. Whole chickens are so much cheaper than cut up chicken parts, and with a few easy tricks, you can make a super delicious roasted chicken at home.
My family also adores Indian food, so this roasted chicken with Indian flavors seemed like a win for dinner. One of the keys to a great roast chicken is an overnight dry brine prior to roasting. Dry brine just means you are applying the brine ingredients directly to the chicken without dissolving in liquid first. I like this method because it is so much less messy than a huge vat of liquid. You do need room in your fridge though for the chicken to sit uncovered overnight. We luckily have a garage fridge that always has room, so I put my chickens there.
My typical dry brine is just salt and pepper, but in this case the entire chicken was rubbed with an Indian spiced yogurt brine with ginger and garlic which added a ton of flavor to the meat and also helped the skin crisp up nicely. This recipe uses both tandoori spice mix and garam masala, both of which you can get on amazon with these links.
I served this roast chicken with an easy raita (yogurt sauce), some rice, roasted vegetables, and some store bought garlic naan to make dinner easier. The store bought stuff isn’t nearly as good as homemade naan, but it works in a pinch. Just make sure to fry in a skillet with a little butter before serving to warm it up and make it crisp on the edges.
Tandoori Roast Chicken with Raita
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken neck and gizzards removed from cavity
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp tandoori spice powder
- 1 tbsp salt
For the raita:
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 1 cup shredded mini cucumber or english cucumber
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp salt
- splash of vinegar I used white vinegar
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Combine the brine ingredients and mix well. Smear all over the chicken, lifting the skin gently from the breast pieces and rubbing the brine under the skin as well as on the outside. Place on a rack on a cookie sheet and place in the fridge overnight. Make sure nothing in your fridge touches the raw chicken for food safety. I know it seems like a lot of salt for this but most of it stays on the skin and it helps to fully season the meat.
- When ready to cook, heat oven to 375. Bake chicken for 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 hours until an instant read thermometer inserted into the back almost to the bone and into the thigh reads 165 or above. Do not undercook. In this case it is better to cook a bit longer to be sure it is fully cooked. In this format, the chicken doesn't get dry if you cook a bit over. Cut the meat from the bones along with some of the crispy skin if you like and serve with sauce and sides.
For the raita:
- Combine the ingredients in a bowl and allow to rest in the fridge while the chicken cooks.