Butterflied chicken is ideal for the barbecue because the whole bird cooks at the same temperature. Smothered in a spicy marinade and served with kachumber, this is high summer food. Coconut rice and mango chutney would be perfect on the side.
Serves: 4-5
INGREDIENTS
Chicken
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, halved
½ cup plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons tandoori masala spice mix (I used the Cassia brand)
1 teaspoon each ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric
½ teaspoon ground chilli
¼ teaspoon salt
1.5-kilogram butterflied chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kachumber
½ cucumber, deseeded and finely chopped
½ green capsicum, cored and finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh coriander
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon chaat masala
pinch sea salt
METHOD
CHICKEN: In a food processor, blitz ginger and garlic until finely chopped. Add everything except the chicken and oil, then process until smooth. Place the chicken on a lined tray and coat with the marinade. Cover and let marinate for at least 1 hour but up to 6. Refrigerate if marinating for more than 1 hour.
Preheat a barbecue to medium (around 180°C). Drizzle the chicken with the oil and place on the grill, breast side up. Cook, covered, for 1 hour, or until cooked through. Baste for the first half hour only with any remaining marinade. Once cooked, remove from heat, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
KACHUMBER: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
TO SERVE: Cut the chicken into chunks and serve with the kachumber.
Drinks match:
Whenever a new Saint Clair Godfrey's Creek Marlborough Gewürztraminer 2020 ($35) is released, I go into spasms of joy and for hours I can’t answer the phone properly. "Gewürztramorning, you’ve reached Yvonne." Embarrassing. It’s generously dry and spice-saturated, and shows more lychee and ginger than you can trebuchet a tandoori at: it's a New Zealand icon. Saintclair.co.nz
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