This Indian Style Whole Masala Roast Chicken is the Indian version of the Roast Chicken bursting with flavors from lots of masalas! It makes for the perfect main dish when you’re preparing a large spread and the ingredients that go into making it are sitting right there on your shelf! Enjoy a juicy, spicy and buttery feast!
That title’s quite a mouthful isn’t it? Indian-Style Whole Masala Roast Chicken. Who even says that stuff?! Honestly, I couldn’t think of what else to call it. Because it’s an Indian version of the Roast Chicken, with lots of masala and is roasted whole. And needless to say, it’s delicious. It’s been made so many times now, that it’s brother-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, husband and friends approved!
So you can basically dive right in, get that whole chicken and try it today, or for Christmas if you plan to celebrate with a large spread!
This may look fancy and difficult, but I promise you won’t have to go searching for ingredients because they are sitting right there on your shelf. Neither will you have to worry too much about how that chicken is going to cook because if you follow the instructions, it is going to be JUICY and SPICY and will make you wonder how often you can get away with making it.
While this recipe is simple, here are a few things to keep in mind so that you get a true winner:
- Get good quality chicken, and make sure to keep the skin on. While roasting a chicken whole, the skin ensures that the chicken remains juicy and doesn’t dry out.
- Ingredients such as ginger and garlic should be freshly prepared so that you get the best flavor.
- Know your oven because oven temperatures vary a little bit. So you may need to adjust the time slightly to make sure the chicken cooks just right.
- This recipe requires a fair amount of butter and please don’t skimp on it. Butter is always better.
- Make sure the chicken fits snugly in your roasting pan, while leaving space for the potatoes, garlic, lime slices and onions. Get a good baking pan or casserole. The Fujihoro casserole that I use in this recipe is multi-purpose and fantastic because it can go from stove to oven and can handle high temperatures. I use it for everything from curries to bakes to roasts.
- Finally, DO NOT cut into the chicken immediately. Cover and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Trust me, the wait is worth it.
Gather the friends around, ask them to bring gifts (because you are feeding them deliciousness) and make some noise. Try this with my Christmas favorites:
Make pitchers of Cranberry Ginger Holiday Cocktail (Helps when you want to make noise)
Cranberry Ginger Holiday Cocktail
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Start with this beautiful Greens, Persimmon and Ricotta Salad
Greens, Persimmon Ricotta Salad with Orange Dressing
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A side of the Creamiest Parsley Baby Potatoes
Creamiest No Mayo Parsley Baby Potatoes
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Another side of Honey Roasted Ginger Carrots, because we love our veggies!
Honey Ginger Roasted Carrots with Carrot Greens Chimichurri
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Some Tandoori Cauliflower for your main dish, if you are vegetarian (Or use the marinade I’ve used for the Chicken on the Gobhi)
Easy Tandoori Whole Baked Cauliflower
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And end the madness with these Passion Fruit Cheesecake Jars, because nobody can choose between desserts
8 ingredient Passion Fruit Cheesecake Jars
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Just when the party’s rounding up, surprise your guests and send them away with these gorgeous Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Cakey Red Velvet Cream Cheese Crinkle Cookies
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Indian Style Whole Masala Roast Chicken
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Yield: 6 -portion 1x
Category: main course
Cuisine: indian
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This Indian Style Whole Masala Roast Chicken is a spicy, juicy roast chicken recipe that makes for a great main dish at holiday tables!
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken (skin-on) (See Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Ginger Paste
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1/2 tablespoon Pepper Powder
- 1 teaspoon Jeera Powder (Cumin)
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Vinegar
- 50 g Butter (Melted)
- Salt to taste
- 3 – 4 quartered Potatoes
- 3 quartered Onions
- 3 Pods Garlic (whole, halved)
- 1 Lemon (sliced)
Instructions
- Wash the chicken and pat dry.
- Mix together chili powder, ginger, garlic paste, pepper, jeera, honey, vinegar, butter and salt into a smooth paste.
- Apply the chili paste all over the chicken, into the crevices and under the skin wherever there are gaps. If you have extra marinade remaining, you can use it to brush the chicken while it cooks.
- Cover and marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours or overnight. I highly recommend marinating it overnight in the refrigerator.
- If you leave it in the fridge, remove it 45 minutes before cooking to let it come to room temperature.
- Use an oven proof baking dish and add potatoes, onions, garlic and lemon slices to the bottom. Tie the chicken legs together with a kitchen string (as shown in the picture) and transfer it on top of the veggies.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees celsius for 90 minutes or 1 1/2 hours. Keep brushing the chicken with the fats and gravy from the pan every 30 minutes or so. Give it one final brush in the last 5 minutes.
- Once cooked, cover with aluminium foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with all the veggies at the bottom of the pan. Don’t forget to squeeze out the garlic and lemon on top of the chicken for an extra kick!
Notes
The chicken I used was approximately 1.2 kgs.
Beautiful flavours after marinating overnight but 220 degrees Celsius for 1.5 hours is definitely too high. I turned it down to 180 after the first 20-25 minutes and shortened the cooking time by about 10 mins. It was a bit more charred than I would’ve liked but the flavour was really nice. My chicken was atleast 1.5 kg. Next time I’ll try 180 for about 75-80 mins.
★★★★
Hey Dipen! Thanks for sharing your feedback. Every oven works differently and the cooking time also depends on the size of the chicken. It’s important to keep an eye on the chicken while it cooks to adjust temperatures slightly.
I cooked this chicken, it came out wonderful, tasty and thanks for the recipe
Thanks for your feedback Lavanya!
Hi, Did you use Broil at all or just regular bake.
Bake and then a broil in the end
Hi..the recipe is looking great..waiting to try this on..Will we use in grill mode to cook the chicken
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Sounds perfect!
Hi, just wanted to check the following two things:
1. Is pepper powder, black pepper powder?
2. What vinegar did you use?
Thank you
Hey Santhini, yes pepper powder is the same as black pepper powder. I used regular synthetic vinegar.
I was looking for a roast chicken recipe with a twist as I usually just do a simple roast with herbs, lemon and garlic and felt like a change. I’m so happy I came across your recipe – the family are still talking about it! The juiciest, most tender chicken we have had for ages. Amazing!
A couple of points:
I only used 1 tablespoon of Kashmiri chili powder and it was perfect for our Western palates.
I loosened the skin over the breast and smeared marinade under.
I very loosely covered it with foil after 40 mins and turned it down as it was getting a touch too dark.
I added a glass of white wine on top of the veggies just to give a little more sauce.
All in all an absolute winner of a dish. The only bad thing about it is there were no leftovers for the following day – everyone had seconds (and some had thirds!)
Hey Rupert! Loved your feedback on this masala roast chicken. Thanks for sharing your cooking tips too, because these really help other readers who want to make the recipe.
The recipe is perfect and the result was awesome.. The best Roast chicken tasted by me especially with Asian twist.. Woww great..
Ameet
★★★★★
Thanks so much Ameet!
Lovely! I cooked a Tangy Chicken Roast long long ago and looking at this recipes has made me put on the thinking cap for experimenting with masalas for my next roast.
Do drop by our blog! https://kitchenpostcards.wordpress.com/2013/06/15/tangy-chicken-potato-roast/
★★★★★
What exactly is a pod of garlic? I only know what a bulb & clove is.
We call a bulb a pod here in India, so basically what I mean is a bulb of garlic
Hi Richa,
Made this recipe for Thanksgiving 2017, it was a great hit. All my family & friends loved it.
The chicken was juicy and tasty, and the gravy at the bottom of the pan turned out great.
My only concern was, the chicken started charing significantly in first 30 mins, so I dialed down the oven to 400F and rotated the chicken for next 20 mins, again rotating it back for the remaining 40 mins.
Thanks a ton for the recipe.
Thanks for the feedback Shruti. I’ll test this out again with a different oven 🙂
What does whole halved garlic pods mean? Do you leave the skin on and cut the pod in half and just throw it into the pot? or does the skin come off from the garlic?
Hey Mini! I just cut the pod in half and leave the skin on.
Thank you soooo much for your quick reply.. Making this for Thanksgiving tonight for the family since no one wants Turkey -I did a trial run on it last week and it turned out good but I only put 3 cloves in it (I misread it- hahaa)
Can you tell me whats the volume of your casserole you used? I want to purchase on as i think it will be very useful for my kitchen. is it this one?
https://fujihoroindia.com/products/yellow-casserole-2-3-ltrs
Yes, thats the one I have. And I love it and use it all the time. You won’t regret the buy Max 🙂
Can thisyou be done on skinless chicken also?
If so, how to ensure it stays juicy?
I would always recommend roasting a full chicken with the skin on because a skinless chicken will dry out. Alternatively you should cover it with parchment paper for most of the duration and take it off just ten minutes before to broil the chicken. It won’t have a super crispy top but this method might help keep it still juicy.
where does one purchase chicken and ginger
From the store!
Hi Richa do v have to bake it in the convention mode or grill it
Are you baking this in a microwave?
Today, I did it in microwave convection oven @220°C came out perfect it was a great Thanksgiving for Christmas , it was crispy tender and juicy. And last the gravy at bottom was excellent. I broiled the chicken at 30min-30min-15min-15min.Thank you so much for the recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing how you made this in a microwave – I’m sure this will help others too. So glad you liked it!
We made the roast chicken with Indian masala and it turned out absolutely yummy!! Thanks for the recipe. We also roasted some chicken legs for 1 hour and they also turned out very juicy and testy.
Yay! So happy you liked it 🙂
I was looking for a whole chicken roast recipe and came upon yours. Chicken was juicy and spicy and my family and all my friends loved it! Thanks so much for this post!!
Yay! So glad all of you liked it Asvita 🙂
I am a fan of roast chicken – be it with any masala as base. Tried out something similar recently and as described in your post it was juicy and the ingredients easy to find! Lovely recipe.
Hi Rashmi, I added about 2 – 3 tablespoons salt for the whole chicken if I’m using unsalted butter. It needs to be seasoned well.
How much salt appox did you add? 1/2 tablespoon enough?
Thanks Hilary, it’s our go to dinner-for-a-crowd recipe now!
In looove with these photos!! This looks so delish.
Looks really yummy! 🙂
These are really great clicks! Love that glaze you got on the skin:)
please also add pictures of each step.
i need to try this recipe soon. i used to roast chicken on Sundays but i havent in a long time. thanks for the reminder.
Thats a perfectly roasted chicken, love the caramelized honey on it.
That looks absolutely yumm… OMG i am hungry now.