This whole roast chicken, murgh musallam, is immensely popular in the north and north-eastern parts of India. Another example of Mughlai cuisine, it is also one of those dishes that has travelled the world but would rarely be seen in this home-cooked style.
It is mildly spiced, with a thick, rich yoghurt and tomato sauce. As described here it is a showpiece dish served on a bed of special rice.
This was a family favourite, a special occasion meal. My grandmother would serve this to guests or to celebrate family events. It is recipe that she inherited from her own mother and grandmother.
These original recipes did not use aluminium foil to wrap the chicken, of course. The was no such thing at that time – it was only available for households from about the 1930s CE and was very expensive. They used banana leaves instead.
If you want to be traditional, you could use a banana leaf to wrap the chicken. Warm the leaf first to make it more pliable, but be warned that wrapping the chicken is a difficult task.
There are many variations possible with this dish. The stuffing described in the recipe is simple, but you can get creative here. One of the stuffing variations is to use a very soft-boiled egg. Reduce the amount of rice and place the egg into the cavity.
You could also get more complex with the rice. It is common to use saffron. Steep some saffron in 3 or 4 tablespoons of warm milk, and when you turn the rice into the oven dish, pour this infused milk over the rice.
You must wrap the chicken properly to keep the juices and marinate contained. As mentioned above, banana leaves are the traditional way to wrap the chicken, but aluminium foil is far simpler. Join two sheets by folding them together along the long edge with a double-folded seam. That seam goes to the bottom and allows you to bring the sides up over the chicken to seal it. Then it is easier to open this sealed pouch for the final browning stage. When you open the foil pouch, fold the edges back over the baking dish ensuring no juices can escape.
You could simplify this recipe and leave out the rice. This will still give a wonderful roast chicken, but without some of the wow factor.
the recipe
about
equipment
equipment
- large bowl
- large pot
- sieve
- 2 roasting pan
- wide pan
- skewers
- kitchen twine
ingredients
ingredients
- 1.5 kg chicken - free range
for the marinade
- 150 ml yoghurt
- 20 g ginger - minced
- 8 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 8 black peppercorns - crushed
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ lemon - juiced
for the rice and stuffing
- 400 g basmati rice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup almonds - halved
- ½ cup dried fruit - finely diced (see notes)
for the masala
- 20 g ginger - coarsely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic - coarsely chopped
- 2 tomatoes - pulp removed and pureed
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 brown onion - finely sliced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- ½ tsp black peppercorn - crushed
- 150 ml yoghurt
for cooking
- ½ lemon
for serving
- 1 green chilli - finely sliced
- 25 g almonds - slivered
- ½ cup coriander leaves - finely chopped
instructions
instructions
- Dry the chicken, then lightly score the skin to allow marinade to soak in. Set aside whilst preparing the marinade.1.5 kg chicken – free range
to marinate
- Put the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, black pepper, salt and lemon juice into a large bowl and mix well.150 ml yoghurt, 20 g ginger – minced, 8 cloves garlic – minced, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 8 black peppercorns – crushed, ½ tsp salt, ½ lemon – juiced
- Place the chicken into the bowl and work the marinade into the surface and cavity. Cover, and set aside in a refrigerator overnight.
to cook rice and stuffing
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the rice and salt and stir. Cook until rice is about half cooked – you should just be able to break a grain with your fingernails. Take ½ cup of the rice from the pot, drain using a sieve, then set aside in a bowl for the stuffing.400 g basmati rice, 1 tsp salt
- Add half the almonds and dried fruit to the remaining rice in the pot and cook for a further minute or so. The rice should still be a little undercooked.¼ cup almonds – halved, ¼ cup dried fruit – finely diced (see notes)
- Remove the pot from the heat, drain using a sieve, and when still moist, but not wet, turn into a roasting dish, cover tightly and set aside.
- For the stuffing, add the remaining almonds and fruit to the reserved ½ cup of rice and mix well. Set aside.¼ cup almonds – halved, ¼ cup dried fruit – finely diced (see notes)
to cook the masala
- Make a thick paste from the ginger, garlic and a little water.20 g ginger – coarsely chopped, 6 cloves garlic – coarsely chopped
- Heat a pan over a medium-high heat, then add the oil. When hot, add the onions, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring often until onions become golden brown – around ten minutes.3 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 brown onion – finely sliced, ½ tsp salt
- Carefully add the ginger and garlic paste to the pan and cook until the raw garlic smell has gone, or around five minutes.
- Add the pureed tomatoes, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, and black pepper to the pan. Mix well and cook for five minutes or until tomatoes soften.2 tomatoes – pulp removed and pureed, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp black peppercorn – crushed
- Reduce the heat to low and carefully add the yoghurt to the pan one tablespoon at a time, mixing well before adding the next spoonful. Cook, stirring frequently, for around five minutes or until the sauce is smooth and starting to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside until cool enough to handle.150 ml yoghurt
to cook
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C.
- Stuff the chicken with the rice, nut and fruit stuffing mixture, pressing firmly. Place the lemon half, cut side inwards to seal the cavity and use skewers or toothpicks to close it. Use kitchen twine to tie the legs together.½ lemon
- Place the chicken on aluminium foil and cover with the masala. Fold the foil up over the chicken, and tightly seal. Place into a roasting dish just large enough to hold the chicken. Refer to the notes below.
- Place the chicken into the oven and cook for one hour.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and carefully open then fold back the foil. Spoon the accumulated liquid over the chicken and return to oven. Place the covered roasting dish with rice in the oven at the same time. Increase oven to 200 °C .
- Cook the chicken and rice for a further 30 minutes, basting the chicken in the juices every 10 minutes or so. By this time the juices should have thickened considerably, and the chicken should be a golden brown.
- Remove rice and chicken from oven and rest for 10 minutes.
to serve
- Turn the rice onto a platter in a ring, leaving some space in the middle for the chicken.
- Carefully remove the chicken from the foil, place into the middle of the platter and remove skewers and twine. Remove the lemon half from the chicken cavity, set to one side of the platter, and gently ease some of the stuffing out of the chicken.
- Pour any remaining sauce from the foil pouch over the chicken, then garnish with the sliced green chilli, almonds and coriander. Serve.1 green chilli – finely sliced, 25 g almonds – slivered, ½ cup coriander leaves – finely chopped
notes
notes
private notes
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