Roasted chilli yoghurt chicken (taj murgh musallam)

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves
• 15 dried red chillies, chopped
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1.8 kg chicken, jointed into 6 pieces
• ½ cup ghee, melted
• spiced flatbread (methi paratha), lemon wedges and cooked basmati rice, to serve

You’ll need to marinate the chicken overnight.

Instructions

Using a mortar and pestle, grind garlic and chillies to a paste. Place in a bowl with yoghurt and 1 tsp salt. Stir to combine. Using a knife, score chicken pieces and pierce flesh a number of times. Place chicken in a large bowl, add yoghurt mixture and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place chicken pieces in a roasting pan and toss with melted ghee. Cook for 30 minutes, then increase oven to 230°C and cook for a further 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Spoon pan juices over chicken and serve with methi paratha, lemon wedges and rice.

Drink 2008 Dr Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Kabinett Riesling, Mosel, Germany ($35)

Also try the almond-stuffed meatballs with spiced tomato sauce (kofta kari) and the tomato and cucumber salad (kachoomar).

As seen in Feast Magazine, Issue 12, pg73.

Photography by Armelle Habib

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.