Royal Rajah Whole Roasted Chicken

Royal Rajah Whole Roasted Chicken

Prep Time

10 mins (1+ hour marinate)

Cook Time

1 hour 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken (medium/ large)
  • 1/3 cup natural yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Rajah Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp Rajah Chilli Powder
  • 1 tsp Rajah Coriander Powder
  • 1 tsp Rajah Cumin Powder
  • 1 tsp Rajah Paprika Powder
  • 1 tsp Rajah Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tsp Rajah Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Rajah Chicken Masala
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp green chilli paste
  • For The Potatoes:
  • 1 kg Maris Piper Potatoes
  • 1 tsp Rajah Cumin Seeds
  • 1 tsp Rajah Coriander Seeds

Method

  1. Start by preparing and marinating your chicken. Take your whole chicken and place it on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, slash the thickest part of the thighs, legs and breasts. In a mixing bowl, mix the natural yoghurt, vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic puree, ginger puree, green chilli puree, salt, black pepper, chilli, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, garam masala and chicken masala to create a paste. Smother the chicken all over with the marinade paste (don't forget the slashes!) and leave aside to marinade. Ideally, the chicken needs to marinate overnight but if you're pushed for time, 1 hour should be okay.
  2. Whilst your chicken is marinating, preheat your oven to 180°C. Wash your potatoes (no need to peel) and chop into 2-inch chunks. Place the potatoes in a baking tray, drizzle over 1 tbsp vegetable oil and sprinkle over the cumin and coriander seeds.
  3. Sit the marinated whole chicken on the potatoes. Cover the chicken lightly with a sheet of baking parchment and then cover the whole tray with foil. Be sure to wrap the foil around the edges of the tray.
  4. Place the tray in the middle of your hot oven for 1 hour. After the first 30 minutes, drizzle over a little of the meat juices over the chicken and return to the oven.
  5. Once the chicken has had 1 hour of roasting, remove the baking parchment and foil (do not discard) and place the chicken back in your oven to roast for a final 30 minutes.
  6. If you have a temperature probe, check the temperature of the chicken, the thickest part of the bird should be 75°C. If you do not have a probe, slice the thickest part of the chicken, once cooked through the meat juices should run clear, if the chicken is not cooked, place it back in the oven until it is fully cooked.
  7. Once fully cooked through, remove the chicken from the tray carefully and place it on a board or tray you wish to serve it on. Cover it back up with the baking parchment and foil and leave it in a warm place to rest for 20 minutes.
  8. Carefully drain off any cooking juices from the tray with the potatoes in. Retain the cooking juices for later. Shake the potatoes in the tray and place them back in your hot oven to roast for a final 20 minutes as the chicken is resting.
  9. Once the potatoes have crisped up after 20 minutes, serve with the rested chicken and drizzle over any meat juices.