Dining and Cooking
In Chefs’ Collections

Curried Roast Chicken, Durban Style

In Madhur Jaffrey’s book “From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes From the Indian Spice Trail” (Clarkson Potter, 2003), which explores the dispersion of Indian food worldwide, there is a recipe from Durban, South Africa, for chicken roasted whole with a forcefully seasoned ginger and chili paste. The chicken is skinned before seasoning and cooking, not a demanding job but one that requires care. The fragrant heat of the chicken, which stayed moist thanks to its foil cocoon, even seemed to tease some spicy flavors from the Marcel Lapierre Morgon Beaujolais I poured with dinner. The fruitiness of the wine helped tame the heat.

Ingredients

  • 1 3 1/4-pound whole chicken, skinned
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 1 2-inch piece peeled ginger, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 small fresh green chilies, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder, preferably coarsely ground
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)

      1159 calories; 83 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 37 grams monounsaturated fat; 16 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 92 grams protein; 368 milligrams cholesterol; 1136 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

3 to 4 servings

Preparation

  1. Cut two deep diagonal slits, down to the bone, in each chicken breast and one in each leg and thigh. Place chicken, breast side up, on a sheet of heavy-duty foil large enough to enclose it. Place in a roasting pan.
  2. Place lemon juice, ginger, garlic, chilies, salt, oil, cumin and coriander in a blender and process to a thick purée. Rub purée over chicken, inside and out, and into slits. Set chicken aside 30 minutes.
  3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Dust chicken with chili powder and black pepper, enclose in foil and crimp to seal. Roast 1 hour.
  4. Open foil and baste chicken. Return, uncovered, to oven for 15 minutes, basting twice more. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Pour juices from foil into a small dish and serve alongside chicken.

2 hours

Dining and Cooking