Bangladeshi Roast Chicken

AuthorSalmaCategoryDifficultyAdvanced

Traditional Bengali Style Roast Chicken, usually cooked for special occasions during family dinner invites, Eid celebrations, weddings and many more.

Yields12 Servings
Prep Time1 hr 30 minsCook Time1 hrTotal Time2 hrs 30 mins

Marinating Chicken
 12 Tandoori Chicken leg pieces
 1 tsp Garlic paste
 1 tsp Ginger paste
 1 tsp Cumin powder
 ¾ tsp Curry powder
 1 ½ tsp Tandoori Masala
 2 tbsp Lemon juice
To Fry The Chicken
 Oil to shallow fry
 1 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter)
Masala Base
 6 Large onions
 6 Green chillies
 2 tsp Ghee
 5 tbsp Oil
 Salt to taste
 3 tsp Ginger grated/homemade paste
 3 tsp Garlic grated/homemade paste
 4 Tomatoes 4 large (optional)
 6 tbsp Fresh coriander
 1 ½ tsp Mixed pickle (optional)
 4 sticks Cinnamon
 4 Bayleaves
 4 Cardamom pods
Spices For Base
 ¼ tsp Tumeric powder
 1 ½ tsp Chilli powder
 1 ¾ tsp Coriander powder
 1 ¾ tsp Cumin powder
 1 ¼ tsp Hot/mild curry powder

Roast the Chicken
1

In a big bowl, add all these ingredients:

Garlic paste 1 tsp
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 Tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Curry powder 3/4 Tsp
Tandoori powder 1 & 1/2 Tsp (I used Rajah's brand)

2

Mix this in and leave this to marinate for 1-2 hours, if you have time.

If you're low on time, don't worry and just carry on following the steps.

Preparing for Eid day: Make your life easier by preparing and marinating this overnight. This honestly saves a lot of time as the day before Eid is always a busy day, so you can cook this in the evening without having to do the steps of marinating.

3

In a wide non stick pan, add enough oil and 1 tablespoon of ghee.

4

Let the ghee melt and add in the chicken pieces. Let this fry on high heat for about 5 minutes then put the heat down to medium heat so the inside cooks a bit (as a guide cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat).

After five minutes put the gas up again for 1 minute.

5

Turn the pieces around and follow the cooking method exactly like the other side from the previous picture.

6

Should look like this. Once they look done, take them out and keep them aside.

Repeat the cooking process for the remaining pieces.

7

All done. You can start to cook the masala while frying the chicken to save time.

Make Base
8

In a separate big pot, add 5 Tbs of oil and 2 tsp of ghee. Add in the whole spices too.

(if you have any remaining oil from frying the chicken then add this too and adjust the new oil quantity I mentioned)

9

Add the ginger and garlic. I like using mixed ginger and garlic paste which I normally make at home.

10

Put the gas up and mix this in. Mix and fry this on high heat for a good few minutes until all the aroma comes out.

11

Add the onions and salt to taste. Salt can be adjusted later so do not add too much now.

When you make your onions, chop them in thin slices.

12

Keep the gas on high heat and mix this in. Once you've mixed it in, cook covered just under medium heat so the onions soften. Make sure to stir at times to prevent it from burning.

13

While cooking the onions, if the base becomes too dry then add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in. Adjust heat if required as you do these steps.

Once the onions are soft, you can use a potato masher to mash them a bit.

14

When the onions are done add in the spices:

Tumeric powder 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder 1 & 1/2 (adjust to taste)
Coriander powder 1 & 3/4 Tsp
Cumin powder 1 & 3/4 Tsp
Hot curry powder (I used Bolst's hot curry powder, you can use any brand you prefer)

15

Mix in the spices and cook just over low heat. Make sure to stir often, cook this for about 10 minutes. If at any stage the spices become too dry, add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in. Adjust the heat to lower if required.

16

After 10 minutes add in the tomatoes and mixed pickle.

17

Mix this in and cook covered on low heat. The longer the masala cooks the better the masala flavour is.

I cooked the spices for 15-20 minutes. Do keep an eye and stir often.

18

Towards the end of the cooking time, add 1 cup of hot boiled water. I wanted the masala to be bit loose and not too dry.

Add water according to the consistency you would like. The consistency should be in the middle- not too dry or too runny.

When you add the water, put the gas up on high heat, mix it in and cook for 4-5 minutes.

19

Add the chicken pieces in and the chillies too.

20

Mix this in and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Chicken is already semi cooked so this will not take too long-cook until the chicken looks done to you.

When the chicken is cooked, you can taste and adjust the salt if required.

21

Finally garnish with fresh coriander and mix this in. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes and turn the heat off.

22

You can serve this with plain pilau rice, peas pilau rice or Jeera pilau rice for special occasions. Enjoy!

(Recipe for Jeera rice will be added soon- at the moment these recipes are available on my Facebook and Instagram page)

Ingredients

Marinating Chicken
 12 Tandoori Chicken leg pieces
 1 tsp Garlic paste
 1 tsp Ginger paste
 1 tsp Cumin powder
 ¾ tsp Curry powder
 1 ½ tsp Tandoori Masala
 2 tbsp Lemon juice
To Fry The Chicken
 Oil to shallow fry
 1 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter)
Masala Base
 6 Large onions
 6 Green chillies
 2 tsp Ghee
 5 tbsp Oil
 Salt to taste
 3 tsp Ginger grated/homemade paste
 3 tsp Garlic grated/homemade paste
 4 Tomatoes 4 large (optional)
 6 tbsp Fresh coriander
 1 ½ tsp Mixed pickle (optional)
 4 sticks Cinnamon
 4 Bayleaves
 4 Cardamom pods
Spices For Base
 ¼ tsp Tumeric powder
 1 ½ tsp Chilli powder
 1 ¾ tsp Coriander powder
 1 ¾ tsp Cumin powder
 1 ¼ tsp Hot/mild curry powder

Directions

Roast the Chicken
1

In a big bowl, add all these ingredients:

Garlic paste 1 tsp
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 Tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Curry powder 3/4 Tsp
Tandoori powder 1 & 1/2 Tsp (I used Rajah's brand)

2

Mix this in and leave this to marinate for 1-2 hours, if you have time.

If you're low on time, don't worry and just carry on following the steps.

Preparing for Eid day: Make your life easier by preparing and marinating this overnight. This honestly saves a lot of time as the day before Eid is always a busy day, so you can cook this in the evening without having to do the steps of marinating.

3

In a wide non stick pan, add enough oil and 1 tablespoon of ghee.

4

Let the ghee melt and add in the chicken pieces. Let this fry on high heat for about 5 minutes then put the heat down to medium heat so the inside cooks a bit (as a guide cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat).

After five minutes put the gas up again for 1 minute.

5

Turn the pieces around and follow the cooking method exactly like the other side from the previous picture.

6

Should look like this. Once they look done, take them out and keep them aside.

Repeat the cooking process for the remaining pieces.

7

All done. You can start to cook the masala while frying the chicken to save time.

Make Base
8

In a separate big pot, add 5 Tbs of oil and 2 tsp of ghee. Add in the whole spices too.

(if you have any remaining oil from frying the chicken then add this too and adjust the new oil quantity I mentioned)

9

Add the ginger and garlic. I like using mixed ginger and garlic paste which I normally make at home.

10

Put the gas up and mix this in. Mix and fry this on high heat for a good few minutes until all the aroma comes out.

11

Add the onions and salt to taste. Salt can be adjusted later so do not add too much now.

When you make your onions, chop them in thin slices.

12

Keep the gas on high heat and mix this in. Once you've mixed it in, cook covered just under medium heat so the onions soften. Make sure to stir at times to prevent it from burning.

13

While cooking the onions, if the base becomes too dry then add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in. Adjust heat if required as you do these steps.

Once the onions are soft, you can use a potato masher to mash them a bit.

14

When the onions are done add in the spices:

Tumeric powder 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder 1 & 1/2 (adjust to taste)
Coriander powder 1 & 3/4 Tsp
Cumin powder 1 & 3/4 Tsp
Hot curry powder (I used Bolst's hot curry powder, you can use any brand you prefer)

15

Mix in the spices and cook just over low heat. Make sure to stir often, cook this for about 10 minutes. If at any stage the spices become too dry, add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in. Adjust the heat to lower if required.

16

After 10 minutes add in the tomatoes and mixed pickle.

17

Mix this in and cook covered on low heat. The longer the masala cooks the better the masala flavour is.

I cooked the spices for 15-20 minutes. Do keep an eye and stir often.

18

Towards the end of the cooking time, add 1 cup of hot boiled water. I wanted the masala to be bit loose and not too dry.

Add water according to the consistency you would like. The consistency should be in the middle- not too dry or too runny.

When you add the water, put the gas up on high heat, mix it in and cook for 4-5 minutes.

19

Add the chicken pieces in and the chillies too.

20

Mix this in and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Chicken is already semi cooked so this will not take too long-cook until the chicken looks done to you.

When the chicken is cooked, you can taste and adjust the salt if required.

21

Finally garnish with fresh coriander and mix this in. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes and turn the heat off.

22

You can serve this with plain pilau rice, peas pilau rice or Jeera pilau rice for special occasions. Enjoy!

(Recipe for Jeera rice will be added soon- at the moment these recipes are available on my Facebook and Instagram page)

Bangladeshi Roast Chicken
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6 Comments

  1. Anila 18 May 2020 at 11:06

    Loved trying this recipe! I really liked the masala and the chicken was so juicy.

    Reply
  2. Shalima 25 May 2020 at 09:47

    I cooked this for Eid for my husband and inlaws and it tasted amazing. I’m not that confident in the kitchen and I have always put off cooking a roast because I always thought it was too advanced. However following Salma’s step by step instructions was so easy, her recipes are cool proof! Thank you Salma for sharing your recipes!

    Reply
  3. Tahmina Aktar 25 May 2020 at 14:20

    I made this Traditional bengali roast for our lockdown Eid. I’m not used to cooking on Eid but it’s an easy recipe to follow for first timers and really delicious! Thank you Salma for sharing your cooking recipes – may Allah bless you with the success in this world and the hereafter, Ameen xx

    Reply
  4. Sofena 29 May 2020 at 20:02

    Made this a few times now following this recipie and always turned out amazing. Roast is a difficult dish to make but followed the step by step instructions on Instagram which is sooo useful. Will deffo be using this recipie in future for whenever I make roast. It’s great dish for Eid as not only does it look beautiful, it tastes amazing! Deffo one to impress guests (as im not very confident with traditional cooking) and in laws in the future In’Shaa Allah x

    Reply
    1. Salma 13 June 2020 at 09:14

      Thank you for a lovely review, I am glad you’re finding my steps by steps instruction very easy to follow.

      Reply
  5. Rani 5 August 2020 at 21:51

    First time making roast, and I followed this recipe as it was quite simple. Tasted delicious, I’m not the best cook, but was well pleased how it came out. Alhamdhullilah. Will be making again soon in sha Allah xx

    Reply

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