Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • Whole Chicken or Chicken Thighs or Chicken Drumsticks - 2 lbs (about 1 kg)
  • Hung Curd (Greek Yogurt) - 1 cup
  • Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
  • Ginger Paste - 2 tsp
  • Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
  • Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - 2 to 3 tsp
  • Cumin powder - 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Garam masala - 1 tsp
  • Red food color - few drops (optional)
  • Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp
  • Olive Oil or Butter - 2 tbsp (for basting)
  • Salt - to taste
  • For Serving
  • Lemon wedges - few
  • Onion Rings - few
  • Chaat Masala - to sprinkle

Instruction

  • Clean the chicken and pat it dry using a paper towel. Make deep slashes at different places so that the marinade seeps in.
  • Take a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, salt and 1 tsp of red chili powder. Rub this all over the chicken and in the cuts made. Keep this aside for 10-15 minutes. This will ensure that the inside of the chicken is well seasoned.
  • In the meantime, prepare the main marinade. For that, take the yogurt in a separate bowl and add the rest of the lemon juice, red chili powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, ginger garlic paste, salt, mustard oil and red color (if needed).
  • Apply this marinade all around the chicken. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (210 degrees C) for about 10 minutes.
  • Take a baking dish. Some baking dishes come with a rack to place the meat like mine. In such cases, the drippings from the chicken can fall down and the chicken does not touch it. The bottom of the chicken also gets well roasted. If you do not have a rack, put a layer of cubed vegetables like onions, potatoes and carrots. This will form a bed for the chicken to rest on. As a bonus you also get roasted vegetables as a side dish to enjoy. The drippings from the chicken also adds a smoky flavor in the hot oven.
  • Place the marinated chicken on the bed of vegetables or on the baking rack. I have added a bed of vegetables even though I have a baking rack because I like to have roasted vegetables as a side-dish.
  • Bake for a total of 25-35 minutes if you are using chicken thighs or drumsticks. If you are using whole marinated chicken, it will take about 1.5 hours to cook. Half way through the cooking process, just apply some butter or oil over the chicken pieces. This will keep it moist.
  • In the final 5 minutes of cooking, I usually set the oven in the broil mode. In some ovens, it is given as the grill mode. Here the heat comes from the top and browns up the outside. This gives the traditional charred look and taste.
  • Carefully remove the chicken onto a serving platter. Sprinkle little chaat masala on top. Garnish with onion rings and lemon slices.