Malabar Roast Chicken | Kozhi Nirachathu

Kozhi nirachathu (Malabar Roast Chicken) – The authentic recipe for the Indian version of roast chicken.

If you think whole roast dinners are an easier way to feed your family without much effort, chances are you’ll love this spicy twist on roast chicken. With a little preparation and planning ahead, this moist chicken roast will be ready to adorn your dinner table, and of course put a happy smile on everyone’s face.

When it comes to roast chicken, for me, the important thing is keeping it moist and tender. Well, this spicy Malabar stuffed chicken aka kozhi nirachathu will surely surprise you. Even though you’re removing the skin of the chicken, it’ll stay super moist. Awesome, right?

At the moment, I’m totally smitten with this roast chicken. It ticks all the boxes for a spicy, delicious, and moist chicken.

The stuffing includes hardboiled egg and spicy masala. The masala is a combination of few common spices mixed with onions. It’s also important to shallow fry the chicken before it goes into the oven.

The gravy for roast chicken is usually made with the sauce you get from the baked chicken. But, in this case, the gravy is made with spices and onions with a preparation method very similar to the stuffing. This gravy along with the stuffing and shallow frying keeps the chicken moist.

In order to make the cooking process easier to understand, I’ve also included a video all about how to marinate and stuff this kozhi nirachathu (Malabar roast chicken). Please check it out!

 

To make this roast chicken, you’ll need one whole chicken. Clean and pat dry chicken. You’ll also need to make few slits on the thighs and legs so the breast and leg will cook evenly.

To start with, make a paste using the ingredients for marinade. Rub the paste onto the chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Next up, you’ll need to make the stuffing.

Heat oil and fry raisins. Set aside.

Add curry leaves. Fry again. Add onions and fry until browned. Now ginger and garlic goes in. Fry until aromatic.

Fry all the spices – turmeric, coriander and red chili powder.

Add the raisins back into the mixture. Mix well. Add the egg. Make sure it’s also coated well in the masala. This stuffing will be used to stuff chicken.

I haven’t included the pictures for stuffing. However, you can watch it in the above video.

Once the chicken is stuffed and the legs are tied, you can seal the chicken. Heat oil in a large pan and place chicken in it. Fry for 5 minutes on each side. Set aside.

Now start making the gravy. Into the same pan, add onions and curry leaves. fry until onions are browned. Add green chilis and fry again.

Now add the spices – turmeric, fennel, coriander and garam masala. Fry for a minute.

Add tomatoes and coriander leaves. Fry until tomatoes are mushy. Add a little water. Cook. Set aside. 

The final step is baking chicken. Preheat your oven to 180ºC.

Spread half of gravy in the baking tray. Place chicken on top. Transfer to oven. You’ll need to bake this for 2 hours. After the first hour, add the rest of the gravy to the chicken. Bake again.

Kozhi nirachathu (Malabar roast chicken) is ready. Enjoy!!

 

More Chicken recipes:

• Tawa Chicken
• Butter Chicken
• Chettinad Pepper Chicken Roast
• Malabar Chicken Curry
• Kashmiri Chicken Curry
• Chicken Ghee Roast
• Chicken Curry -Restaurant Style
• Chicken Korma
• Chicken Vindaloo
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Chicken Jalfrezi
• Capsicum Chicken Curry
• Ginger Chicken

Yield: 4

Malabar Roast Chicken | Kozhi Nirachathu

Print

Indian style roast chicken from the northern region of Kerala.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

• 1 whole small chicken (approximately 1kg)

Marinade:

• Juice of half of lemon
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp red chili powder
• Salt to taste

Stuffing:

• 1 egg, hard-boiled, shells removed
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 green chili, sliced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• Salt to taste

Fry Chicken:

• 2 tbsp oil

Gravy:

• 3 large onions, sliced
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 green chili, slit
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse chicken under cold running water. Pat dry with a paper towel. Score thighs and legs. Set aside.

Marinate Chicken:

1. Combine together lemon juice, ground turmeric and red chilli powder in a small bowl. Season with salt.
2. Rub the marinade onto the chicken. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Stuffing:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add raisins, and fry until plump. Set aside.
2. Add curry leaves to the same oil, and sauté for few seconds. Add onions, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Add green chili and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in minced ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute or until aromatic. Stir in ground turmeric, ground coriander and red chili powder. Saute, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in raisins. Season with salt. Add egg, and stir until it’s coated with the masala. Remove from heat. Set aside.
3. To stuff chicken, place the egg inside the cavity first followed by the stuffing mixture. Use a kitchen string to tie the legs together. Tie the arms together. Set aside.
4. When you’re ready to bake the chicken, preheat oven to 180C.

Fry Chicken:

1. Heat oil in a large wok or frying pan. Place chicken in the pan. When one side is browned, flip over to brown the other side. (This will take approximately 5 mins on each side). Set aside.

Gravy:

1. To the same oil, add onions and curry leaves. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Add green chili and sauté for 1 minute. Add ground turmeric, ground fennel, ground coriander and garam masala, and sauté for 1 minute. Season with salt. Stir in tomatoes and coriander leaves.. Saute for 2 minutes or until it starts to break down. Add a little water to make a thick gravy.

Bake Chicken:

1. Line a baking tray with baking / parchment paper. Spread half of the gravy in tray. Place chicken in the tray breast side down. Bake for 2 hours. After an hour, pour the rest of the gravy on chicken and bake again.
2. Serve with your favorite paratha, naan or rice.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 525Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 117mgSodium 200mgCarbohydrates 55gFiber 8gSugar 20gProtein 30g

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