This is an oven-cooked version of the Indian classic Murgh Mussallam—a whole chicken cooked in a rich spicy sauce. Although Indians like their chicken skinned, partly to let the spices penetrate better, I have not bothered too much with that in this book, just to make life easier. But it would be good to do it for this recipe, as this is a dish for special occasions. You can ask your butcher to skin the chicken, but it is really not difficult to yank most of it off yourself. The wings are a bit troublesome, so I just leave them alone. I might go to town here and serve Black Beans, Yellow Basmati Rice with Sesame Seeds, and Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant. On the other hand, you could treat this as a spicy roast and just have parsley potatoes and fresh summer peas!
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
For the Spice Paste
You Also Need
Preparation
Step 1
Put all the ingredients for the paste in a blender in the order listed and blend to a smooth paste.
Step 2
Remove as much of the chicken skin as you can easily. Cut 2–3 deep diagonal gashes in the fleshy part of each breast and thigh. Rub 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon lemon juice all over the chicken, inside and out. Leave for 15 minutes. Now put the chicken in a bowl. Spread the spice paste all over, cover, and refrigerate 4–24 hours.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Step 4
Pour the oil into a large, flame- and ovenproof casserole pan large enough to enclose the chicken and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 10 seconds and then put in the whole chicken, breast up, as well as all the marinade. Bring to a simmer. Cover, and place the pan with the chicken in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake uncovered another 40 minutes or so, basting with the sauce every 10 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
