Deep fried Indian masala whole chicken roast- 

A mix of fragrant spices, marinated for hours then deep-fried.

Golden brown on the outside and tender meat on the inside that you’ll love biting into.

Is there anything more satisfying than tearing into a perfectly seasoned fried chicken?

A fried whole chicken is always that one food you’ll find at weddings or any celebratory occasions gracing a table.

It’s a must for any festive occasion where you serve an elaborate menu with rice and curries.

Now you can fry a deep-fried chicken with a masala gravy at home for your weekend meals. 

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Utensils and appliances needed.

• A large bowl to marinate the chicken in spices.
• Twine thread to tie the legs.
• A deep pan to fry the chicken.
• A medium-sized pan to make the masala gravy.

Workflow to make the Deep-fried masala whole chicken roast.

1. Remove the skin, wash and clean the chicken.

2. Make deep cuts on the chicken for the marination to absorb and for the oil to fry the thicker parts of the chicken.

3. Make the marinade and apply it to all parts thoroughly, tie the legs together and leave the chicken to marinate for 5-

4. Deep fry the chicken.

5. Make the masala gravy for the chicken, adding the deep-fried chicken to the masala gravy and coating the chicken with it.

1. The key to a tasty chicken roast is the marinade you apply on the chicken. make sure there is adequate salt and all other seasoning ingredients.

2. I would recommend that you do an overnight or 6-7 hour marination.

3. Choosing the correct sized bird for the fry is also important, for your first time, choose a fairly small bird(maybe 500g-700g), once you know the workflow and how long to fry you can move on to a bigger one(1kg).

4. When you are making deep cuts on the chicken make sure they are deep, especially where the meat is thicker like the legs and breast, not only does this help with the marination but this also helps with the frying.

5. Tie the legs, this makes it easy for you to handle the chicken.

6. The temperature of the oil(see notes below).

DO NOT WAIT  TILL THE OIL REACHES HIGH HEAT AND THEN FRY THE CHICKEN, if you do this, you’ll have a beautiful fried chicken on the outside but raw chicken on the inside.

what you need to do is gradually bring the oil to medium heat and slowly fry the chicken on all sides.

7. Use a tong or two wooden spoons to turn, lift the chicken. watch out for the oil splatter.

What’s the correct oil temperature to deep-fry a chicken?

Heat the oil to 340-375 degrees, once the chicken is added maintain a temperature of 300-320 degrees. 

Can I use a deep fryer?

Yes, you can use a deep fryer, just follow the instruction mentioned on the deep fryer.

The chicken is not fried through, especially the thighs and legs, what should I do?

These things happen and there’s no need to panic, just do the following.

Make the masala gravy as per the recipe instructions, instead of reducing the masala completely, keep it with more gravy.

Cut or break the chicken into manageable pieces, add them to the masala gravy and continue cooking until all parts of the chicken are covered.

What do I do with all the oil I used for deep frying?

This is oil that you’ve only used for frying once, as much as I would love to write, “throw it away”, I’m not going to.

It’s just going to be a waste, pour it into a glass bottle once the oil turns cool, use a strainer.

Use it for your daily cooking, to fry eggs, tempering of ingredients or making curries.

If you feel that reusing the oil is bad for your health, then please throw it away.

Deep-fried masala whole chicken roast.

A sprig of curry leaves

2 large onions finely sliced

2-4 green chillies

1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1/2-1 cup coconut milk(depending on how much gravy you want)

Method 

Cleaning and preparing the chicken.

Remove skin, giblet and neck of the chicken.

Wash, drain and pat dry the chicken as much as you can.

Using a sharp knife make slanted, deep cuts on the chicken( 3 on each side of the breast, two on each thigh, two on each leg, make sure the cuts are very deep that you hit the bones).

Marinating the chicken. 

In a bowl mix 3 tablespoons of tamarind juice, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, pepper, turmeric, lemon juice, salt to season, mix these ingredients then rub the paste all over the chicken, especially the grooves and cuts, take a few minutes doing this, if you are sensitive to chilli powder and spices make sure you are wearing disposable gloves.

With all the deep cuts to the chicken, you might find the chicken wobbly so make sure you have a good grip on the bird.

Now gather both legs, with a twine tie the legs together, the tied legs should be facing the breast, doing this will make the chicken easy to maneuver when deep frying and won’t give the chicken an odd look when the chicken is completely fried.

Tuck the wings into the cavity of the neck or cut them off which I did.

Tuck the wings into the cavity of the neck or cut them off which I did.

Place the chicken in a bowl cover with cling film, refrigerate and let the chicken marinate at least 5-6 hours if you can marinate it overnight, there’s more time for the marinade to lock in its flavor. 

Deep-frying the chicken.

Take the chicken out from the refrigerator one hour before you fry it so that it reaches room temperature.

Use a deep pan or a wok to fry the chicken

Use a pan that is large enough to accommodate the whole chicken while giving you tong or wooden spoons to easy access to turn the chicken when needed(read all notes above).

Pour in the oil and let the oil gradually heat.

Add a curry leaf, if it sizzles then gently, place the chicken in the oil and let it gradually fry over medium heat(see beginners notes above).

It is important that you don’t increase the heat at any time but maintain a low to medium heat for the chicken to fry evenly right throughout. 

To evenly fry the chicken, turn it on all sides. once you’ve turned the chicken, continue pouring oil over the chicken with the wooden spoon.use two wooden spoons so that you have control of the chicken and can avoid hot oil splashing through.

Cook the chicken until all sides are brown and thoroughly done, to check if the inside of the chicken is fried, check on the deep cuts you made earlier.

Once the chicken is deep-fried remove from hot oil and place it on a plate to drain any excess oil.

Making the masala gravy for the chicken.

Use oil that you fried the chicken in, pour 4-5 tablespoon of it to a medium-sized pan.

Add sliced onions, curry leaves and sauté the ingredient until they turn golden brown.

Add green chilli, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, garam masala and sauté the ingredients for 3-5 minutes until you have a  thick paste.

Add tomato paste, then coconut milk.

Cook over low heat until you have the correct thick consistency and the gravy has turned into a deep, dark brown, check on taste and season with salt as necessary.

Once the thick masala is made, add the fried chicken, making sure you coat it thoroughly. 

Serve warm.