Indian-Spiced Roasted Butterflied Chicken

By Addie

This turns the everyday roast chicken on its head, simply by bathing it in an intoxicatingly spiced yogurt marinade, butterflying it, and flattening it into a cast iron skillet to roast. Its incomparably crispy skin is brightened by a fragrant rub -- a testament to the benefits of grinding whole spices: you'll get so much more flavor and aroma. If you only have 3 hours to marinate, that'll do, but in our experience, overnight is well worth the wait. Note that, depending on your oven, you might need to cover the chicken with foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking if it's getting too brown

Ingredients

• Seeds from 6 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 3-4 pound chicken, butterflied
• Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

Grind cardamom seeds and peppercorns in a mortar with pestle to a fine powder. Add salt, coriander, cumin and garlic. and smash the garlic. Add the olive oil to form a paste. Stir in yogurt, ginger and lemon juice.

Place chicken in a large bowl or pan. Rub yogurt between skin and breasts and thighs. Then smear remaining yogurt over the outside of the chicken, front and back. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Place chicken breast-side up in a baking pan or cast iron pan. Bake in oven until thoroughly cooked, 45 minutes - 1 hour. Remove and let rest 15 minutes before carving. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.


COMMENTS: (87)

There is no shortage of spices in this recipe, yet the end result amplifies cardamom. Combined with garlic, ginger and yogurt this blend forms a thick marinade which coats, perfumes and tenderizes the chicken. I like to smear it over a whole butterflied chicken, but it's just as good with breasts or legs. Butterflying ensures quick cooking and even browning. If you can, let the chicken marinate overnight - the longer it sits the better.

We had this last night, delicious. A nice change from our usual roast bird.

Whoa. I made this yesterday and it was a life-altering kitchen experience. Beyond delicious. Thanks for sharing and for spurring me on to several "firsts": first time butterflying a chicken, first time using whole cardamom pods, first time roasting a chicken in a skillet...but it certainly won't be the last for any of those.

This was on my dinner table tonight, and it rocked! great flavors and the chicken was so juicy! I will share and make again!

This was succulent, aromatic and delicious! Simple to make and well worth doing again! Thanks!

This made the tastiest pan juices of any bird I've ever roasted. I'm even more excited about the leftovers! Thanks for sharing with us.

I've made this lots of times now and it is - hands down - my favorite way I've ever had a chicken. Ever.

Made this tonight for my 4.5 yr old, his buddy and mother. WOW! The fragrance and flavors danced on our taste buds. I served seconds and thirds. The boys comments, "This is fantastic. Just delicious...can you please make this again!" Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

Just wanted you to know that I made this tonight for the first time and absolutely loved it! The marinade is full of flavor and well balanced -- and it's great to be able to fully prep the chicken the night before. I'll be making this again and again!

Wow, really, really good! And it was all I could do not to dip a big piece of bread into those pan juices. I actually spooned a little of it into my rice pilaf! Excellent!

Also, since I loved your technique so much, I tried this with smoked paprika instead of the cardamom, cumin , coriander and ginger and it was also great!

I just wanted you to know that I think this is my all time favorite chicken recipe. I make it at least once every couple of weeks. The flavors are fantastic!

This is absolutely lovely. I've made it several times, and we enjoy it more every time. Tonight, we are celebrating post-Hurricane Irene with it. Thanks so much!

Really, really good - excellent flavor! My husband is not a big chicken fan, and he loved it.

Made this last night after a friend suggested it. I'm so in love with it....I want to marry it! Easy peasy, and such an amazing flavor profile. It'll go in my favorite chicken "go-to" recipes from now on! THANK YOU!!

Made this last night. Oh my yum. What a fabulous dish. Love the combination of flavors, the juiciness of the bird, and the crispy skin. Can't wait to make this again!

RIDICULOUSLY EASY AND DELISH. We served it for company and they were duly impressed. Great dish. Thank you!

It was great!! Everyone LOVED it!!

I have been making this recipe once a week since you posted it. It is incredibly delicious!

Delicious!! All I had were thighs, but they worked out just fine. The cardamom really shines.

We ate this tonight...a Monday night that also happened to be Valentine's Day. It was great, my husband called it "scrumptious' and while he likes great food, that's not a usual adjective. The crispy skin! I love cardamom and ginger and coriander and cumin and garlic and everything else you include. I'm guessing that by next Valentine's Day I'll have made this a lot, always a little bit differently, but always scrumptious.