Hindustan Times
The RIP mantra: Roast in peace
How to enjoy the party with a drink in hand and a bird in the oven
If you invite people over frequently, you clearly enjoy the party as much as your friends do.
I do.
If you enjoy the party and cook the food, you clearly have some secrets that you would like to share.
I do.
I was quite pleased with the colour and texture
My great — and shameful — secret is roast chicken.
It’s shameful because I consider chicken north-Indian vegetarian comfort food, like paneer. The broiler in Delhi is so ubiquitous, and so lacking in flavour (though not as bad as the giant chickens they sell in US supermarkets) that I refuse to consider it proper non-vegetarian food.
Though I like to fuss over roast duck, pork or leg of lamb when I am so inclined, I serve chicken at parties because:
(a) most people stick to chicken in this era of healthy eating and
(b) it’s the easiest meat to handle when you’re having fun
I have previously written in this blog some pretty intricate recipes for roast chicken that involves much pre-roasting and grinding of spices (like Rosemary panch-phoran chicken; I’ve also written roasting an entire leg of lamb).
But I’ve realised there is watch-me-roast chicken and there is forget-me-as-I-roast chicken.
Sometimes, I don’t want to swelter in the kitchen while everyone’s having fun outside. At the same time, I don’t want anyone else sharing the duties of my little kingdom, so I’ve learned to evolve recipes that let me to rule from the outside.
The key is to use few spices, simple flavours and — most important — a low oven temperature and a casserole with a cover.
The low temperature allows the chicken to roast in peace without burning while you enjoy your cigar and rum, or whatever your poison. The covered casserole gets some juices flowing and allows the chicken to baste itself without drying out.
You do still need to come in perhaps every 45 minutes and shake up the casserole so that the juices lap the chicken properly, but that’s a small effort. You can keep the casserole closed and serve the chicken that way, but if you like that golden, roasted look, then you may have to step up the heat for the last 30 minutes and do some old-fashioned watching and basting every 10 minutes.
Last week, when my parents were due from the airport, I popped a chicken — I use full legs cut into three — into the oven at low temperature and even dropped in to a friend’s house in the neighbourhood for an hour. Fortified by a gin-and-tonic and some pleasant conversation, I strolled back and peered into the oven. The bird was browning slowly and god was in her heaven. After a shower, all was still well. Only after two hours did I open up the casserole, step up the heat and spend some time creating a golden-brown colour. I retained much of the liquid because my father loves it.
I’ll say this for the humble broiler chicken: It’s very versatile, and the variations when you pop it into an oven are endless. I’ve used Chinese five-spice powder as the base for the recipe below, but you can use any combination of spices. Don’t let you imagination limit you.
RIP.
Once you step up the heat, remember to baste the chicken to keep it moist
Five-spice slow-roast chicken
1 kg chicken, cut into pieces
1 tbsp ginger-garlic or garlic paste
6 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (or garam masala or any combination of spices)
2 tsp chilli powder (You can use any chilli powder; I often use New Mexico chipotle powder, when I have it; this time I used a Konkan fish masala!)
Salt
Fresh parsley or coriander
Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients for at least one hour. Place in a casserole with a fitting lid. If you don’t have a casserole, spread chicken in an oven tray and wrap with aluminium foil.
Preheat the oven to 150 deg C for 10 minutes before putting in the chicken. Retain same temperature, and let it roast undisturbed for at least an hour. As you roast more often, you will get a hang of how long. You will find juices collecting in the casserole. Shake the casserole so the juices lap the chicken. Use oven mitts and be very careful. If you are not used to doing this, remove the casserole, open the lid and use a long-handled spoon to scoop up the liquid and pour over the chicken. Put the chicken back in the oven for another 45 minutes to an hour before basting again. It will be ready to serve. However, if you want to reduce the liquid and make the chicken a rich golden-brown, increase heat to 200 deg C. Baste every 10 minutes until chicken is golden-brown. Garnish with fresh, chopped parsley or coriander.
Serves 4-5
Grab a drink and a well-roasted drumstick
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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Wow..it was such a treat to read that..reminded me of the time when I used to experiment with all possible things in my Kitchen and the resultant was a BIG feast for my flatmates and myself
I have a fettish for chicken (also because I don’t eat any other form of non veg), and can’t resist a roasted leg all covered with all possible sort of spices. I varied the prepration a little as I used to marinate it for atleast a day and all I had to do was give it a lil brown color in my oven as the chicken was already tender and all the ingredients and spices had very well given their flavor. It works because you don’t lose the natural flavor of the chicken because of over heating and the spices make it flavorish in their own way..
Mantra: Keep experimenting!!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 25th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
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Hi Samar,
Thanks for sharing your experience. It always happens with me that whenever I have friends at home for a dinner or maybe lunch, I miss all the fun only because I am in the kitchen checking on the dishes I am cooking and then I feel really sad
So now whenever my friends are at home I generally prepare everything an hour in advance. So that by the time they reach my place I am ready to spend time with them instead of the chicken in kitchen hehehehe…… For evening snacks if I have pakoras, I half fry them and once my friends are in I fry them again which makes them very crisp….
Next time I am going to try my hand on the roasted chicken recipe that you have shared. Hope everything goes fine.
Thanks again!
Itisha
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What! no oil?
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
not really. you can add a tbsp of olive oil to the marinade if you wish
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Do you have any recipe related to Roasted Pork?
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
yes, link in the body of the copy
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Samar,
I’m going to try this recipe. I make something similar with lemon grass, coriander leaves, garlic, chilli paste and coconut milk. So yours will make a nice change and I can party whilst it’s simmering.
Cheers
Ujwala
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
great to hear that. how about passing on your recipe?
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Ujwala Samant Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 9:32 am
Samar, mine is very simple. I don’t have exact measurements because the French-Vietnamese neighbour Mme Giac, who taught me this had none… for anything she showed me!
Pound lemon grass with garlic and coriander stems with a little coconut milk to make a smooth paste. Add chilli paste or mash in dried chilli, If you want to roast it whole, then just rub the paste mixed with rock salt under the skin all over the bird, including the cavity. She would stuff the cavity with shallots or small onions massaged with the lemon grass paste. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, turn down to 375, bake till golden brown. Baste with coconut milk till done. I would make coriander-toasted coconut-cashew rice to accompany this and we would have a nice rose and we were in business! For the coconut rice: heat oil, add a bay leaf and cracked pepper corns. Saute soaked and drained rice. Instead of water, mix in half water, half coconut milk and finely chopped coriander stems. Cook as usual. Toast coconut on a pan, cool. Chop cashews and fry. Mix in the rice before serving and top chopped coriander leaves. Bon appetit!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 11:33 am
This is wonderful, thank you
I could not agree more with you about the quality of chicken here in the USA.Back in India we always got what we used to call “Desi Murga”(for lack of a better name).The one they sell here are just useless without any taste and always too big.
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Desi chicken is hard to find in India as well, and it’s more than twice as expensive as broiler
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wow..this sure was interesting ..i could almost feel the taste of the chicken while reading this..hahaha
i m very fond of chicken…and have it almost every weekend…and roasted chicken is a must for me..
my recipe for roasted chicken is very simple..
2-3 spoons ginger-garlic paste
salt to taste
1 spoon corasely grinded kaali mirch powder
little bit of hung curd for marination
juice of 1 lemon.
mix the chicken with this marinade and leave for an hour or so..
u can simply roast this and it taste very nice…its kind of tangy coz of the curd n lemon…n kaali mirch gives it a nice edge..its simple and taste awesome
n yeah will try ur recipe too!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
ah, as usually a contribution that sounds lovely. Let me try this.
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I must say ur an inspiration for young journalists like me who want to pursue writing on food. Kudos sir!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
glad glad
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I tried your recipe Samar and it turned out just brilliant! I think I was a little heavy on the masalas though. What kind of variations do you recommend to this recipe?
I’m really excited that it turned out great because it was the first time that I used my oven (believe it or not!). Thanks so much!
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Samar Halarnkar Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Congratulations on no longer being an oven virgin! About the masalas, you can cut back on them.
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Great recipe and looks yummy. I hope you used chicken pieces with the skin on!
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helpful post.
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Hi Samar….my experience says the longer you let the chicken cook,the harder the meat gets. 20 min @ 200 C to seal the jucies and 50 mins @ 160 C should get one a succulent roast !Try roasting bags to get a even golden brown.
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