Ingredients

The following ingredients have 5 Servings
  • 8 tablespoons Cabot Unsalted Butter, to make 5 to 6 tablespoons of Ghee
  • 1 whole frying chicken (3 to 4 pounds) cut up or 3 ½ lbs. chicken breast halves, skin on
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds or 2 teaspoons of coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • 1 inch piece of ginger root, roughly chopped or ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
  • 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup Cabot Plain Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon paprika

Instruction

  • MELT 8 tablespoons, or 1 stick, of Cabot Unsalted Butter in a saucepan over low heat, being careful not to let it brown at any point in time.
  • INCREASE the heat to high and bring to a boil. When the surface is covered with foam, stir immediately and reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes without stirring.  When the butter on top is nice and clear pour the ghee into a bowl through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. The idea is that the ghee must be totally clear and contain no milk solids. Ghee can be kept in a jar and sealed in the refrigerator for months.
  • DRY the chicken pieces with a paper towel and arrange in a single layer in a glass baking dish.  Set aside while making the marinade.
  • HEAT a small frying pan over low heat and toast the coriander and cumin seeds for a minute or so. Be sure and shake the pan constantly when toasting the seeds to avoid scorching.
  • DROP the seeds into the jar of an electric blender, add all of the remaining marinade ingredients and blend until the mixture is reduced to a smooth paste.  If you don’t have a food processor or blender you can use coriander powder and cumin powder and just cut the ginger, garlic and onion very fine. The idea is to make the marinade as much like a smooth paste as possible.
  • SPREAD the yogurt masala marinade evenly over the chicken pieces with a rubber spatula, cover, refrigerate and let marinate overnight.
  • PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. *See below for instructions on grilling outdoors.  When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a wire rack in a baking pan and coat the chicken with all but 2 tablespoons of the ghee.
  • ROAST in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue cooking for another hour or until the chicken is done. Before removing the chicken from the oven, baste it with the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee.
  • LEAVE rack in the center of the oven, set the oven broiler on high for another 5 minutes to brown and crisp the edges of the chicken. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
  • PLACE the charcoal on one side of the grill and leave one side as the “cold” side. If using a gas grill, heat only one side, if possible. If not, keep the heat on low.
  • COOK the chicken for about an hour turning every 15 minutes or so.