To Roast Or Not To Roast

Recipe: Pepper Roasted Chicken

Even though Indian cuisine boasts of a wide variety of thick luscious curries and spicy gravies, when it comes to chicken I have a liking for having it roasted/grilled. I simply cannot resist the wonderful aroma of roast chicken.

It had been cold and cloudy since the past couple of weeks in Bangalore. And I was craving for something with a zing to it...


Hence was born this zinger of a chicken roast with the star flavour being PEPPER!!!!




This was just perfect for the cool and rainy monsoon weather... Get your bottle-openers and cork-screws ready because this dish goes well with a cold beer/soda or a warm/hot drink.




There's a pepper plant in almost every backyard or farm in Kerala and fresh / dried pepper is used widely in the cuisine. So I'm sending this dish to Magpie's Recipes for the Kerala Kitchen of this month.

I prefer using the spicy and aromatic black pepper for this dish.

But in case, you want to reduce the heat, using a mix of the less spicy white pepper along with black pepper is a good option.

PEPPER ROASTED CHICKEN

Chicken - 1 kg - skin removed, washed, drained and cut into medium sized pieces with horizontal slits made on fleshy pieces

Rub the chicken pieces with salt and pepper as mentioned below. And leave it for an hour
Salt - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp (freshly ground)

The Other Ingredients:
Onions - 3 medium sized ones chopped
Green chilli - 1 sliced
Garlic cloves - 12 crushed
Ginger Crushed - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp
Tomato - 1 chopped finely
Potatoes - 1 big one - cubed to 1 inch pieces (Omit for low carb diets)
Curry leaves - 10

Spice Mix:
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 4
Cumin - 1/4 tsp
Fennel - 1/4 tsp
Whole Pepper - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Coconut Oil/Ghee - 6Tbsp

While the chicken is marinating in the salt and pepper, prepare the following.

Finely powder the ingredients lists under spice mix either using a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder.

Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Put in the chopped onions and green chilli and saute for a couple of minutes. When the onions become transparent, put in the crushed ginger and garlic. Reduce the heat and saute till the raw smell goes away.

Add the powdered spice mix and fry for another minute or so till a roasted smell comes. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and keep sauteing till the tomatoes mix up well with the rest of the masala and till the mixture becomes a nice dark brown colour.

Add the chicken pieces into the frying pan without any of the water that would have oozed out of it. Mix well. Increase the flame to medium high. and sear all sides of the pieces of meat.

Put in the chopped potatoes too, lower the flame and close the lid. And cook the meat and potatoes in the masala till the meat is just about done. After which, open the lid and evaporate any liquid that is present by placing it on a medium high flame. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan or a non-stick pan. Put in the cooked chicken, potatoes and  masala. Slow roast this on a medium flame stirring only occasionally till the meat gets nice and roasted. Then add the curry leaves and roast for another minute. It took me about 30 minutes to roast the meat to a wonderfully fragrant perfection.

Serve as a side-dish with rice, chapati, porota, bread, idiappam, drinks... yes this dish goes well with anything... Serve with a fresh green salad for LCHF.



This peppery treat ignites the fire in your soul and is an awesome treat for all the hard-work you have put into making this dish.
I'm taking dish to the Virtual friendship day party hosted by Renita and Roshni over at their blogs :)