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Donal Skehan
Baked Indian Chicken with Cardamom, Coriander and Almond Couscous | DonalSkehan.com, A nice change from a traditional roast chicken.
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Baked Indian Chicken with Cardamom, Coriander and Almond Couscous

June 30

This is a great way to jazz up a traditional Sunday roast where the chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices making it meltingly tender. The flavours here are really fantastic and really penetrate the flesh of the chicken. Try to by a free-range or organic chicken, as the flavour is always so much better.

 

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 90 mins + marinade time

Method

  1. 1. To make the marinade, mix the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, paprika, olive oil and yogurt in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Slash the chicken legs several times with a sharp knife, then rub the marinade all over the chicken, both inside and out. If time allows put the chicken in a large food bag, or covered in a non-metallic dish, and leave to marinate for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours is best.

  2. TOP TIP

    You need a non metallic dish so the acid in the lemon juice doesn't react with it, resulting in a metallic taste.
  3. 3. Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven. Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8. Make a trivet with the onions in an oval casserole dish or roasting tin and then drizzle over the rapeseed oil. Season with salt and pepper and sit the chicken on top.
  4. 4. Put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity and place in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 200C. Cover the chicken loosely with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 50 minutes, basting the chicken halfway through cooking.
  5. 5. Meanwhile, prepare the couscous. Bash the cardamom pods with the back of a knife and place them in a bowl with the couscous. Add the stock granules and cover with boiling water, cover with cling film and leave until all the water has been soaked up and the couscous is nice a plump. Using a fork fluff up the couscous when it’s ready and fold in the coriander and almonds.
  6. 6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before you carve it, then arrange on warmed serving plates with the couscous to serve.

Ingredients

For the chicken:

1.5kg whole chicken

2 large onions, peeled and cut into thick slices

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 lemon, halved

For the marinade:

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp hot paprika

1 tbsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

250ml natural yogurt

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the couscous:

3 cardamom pods

200g couscous

2 tsp vegetable stock granules

handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

100g toasted silvered almonds

You'll Need

Large bowl

Food bag or non metallic dish

Casserole dish or roasting tin

Medium sized bowl