A good roasted chicken recipe is a part of the any good family recipe vault. I feel like it is never enough how many times I make it. it is so delicious, elegant, and simple and at the same time so versatile. If that is not enough reasons to love it, how about the fact that you can serve it with many sides and feed a crowd with a snap. This and so many other reasons that I do not even know, I am always looking for good chicken recipes.

I did my post with the title Island way, even though my islanders do not do roasting that often. We do more curried chicken than roasted for our day today meals. Roasting is done in special occasions. It is not surprising to see the spice roots however, looking back at the Southwestern European and Indian influence embedded deep in our way of cooking. Sri Lankan cooking has evolved so much since Portuguese occupation of the island back in 15 th century, even though it is one way that we see today how much one culture has influenced the other.

It was special every time my mother made curried chicken, aroma of deeply spiced and marinated chicken cooking in the clay pot filling the air. I wish I could have some right about now! Even though I might not be as good cook as my mother, keep any eye out for those historic roots in this peri peri chicken influenced recipe that I am going to make today. I hope you will enjoy making it too.

Ingredients

One whole chicken cleaned, skin removed rinsed and cut vin to 8 pieces. about 5 pounds.

Seasoning base

• One red bell pepper
• One green bell pepper
• One red onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2-inch pieces of ginger
• One can of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• One can of anchovies with oil
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 2 teaspoon of dried coconut flakes
• 1 tsp of rice flour
• 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar

Flavoring

• 2 tablespoon of Jaffna roasted curry powder.
• 1 teaspoon of Black curry powder
• 2 tablespoon of Coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon of Cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon of Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of Black pepper powder
• Half a teaspoon of black cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of nutmeg
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• Seeds of few pods of cardamom
• Pinch of cloves and cinnamon powdered

Preparation

Clean, remove the skin and cut the whole chicken in to 8 pieces. Discard the offcuts. Pat dry with a paper towel. Set aside covered until marinade is ready.

Blend the seasoning base and flavoring to a fine paste. Pour the marinade over the chicken and rub well to coat and let it marinade about an hour. I used up all the paste I made to flavor my dish, because I am used to eating spicy dishes. But here is a little tip. once you make this flavor base if you feel like it might be too spicy for you, use your best judgement on how much you want to use. If you have leftover store it in the airtight container in fridge and it will stay good for about a week. You can use it flavor other dishes and to make seasoned dipping oil for the bread.

Bake on roasting rack at 400-degree oven uncovered until dry, outside crisp and internal temperature is at 165.

Let the chicken cool down and serve with your favorite mashed potato, stir fried vegetable or pasta.

Bonus & Tips

Do you know what other ways to cook the same seasoned chicken? Here is another idea.

If you are in a hurry and you want to only make a one piece for a single serving, place a cast iron Dutch oven on stovetop (not an enameled one, because high heat might destroy the enamel), with a rack inside and place chicken on the rack. Cover with the lid and cook until chicken is done. Uncover and serve over rice or with your favorite vegetable. you could also curry it by adding one cup of coconut milk and cooking it.

I will include links to everything I have used in my recipe as always, including affiliate products. specially links to the curry powders I use.