Chicken roast with indian spices

step 1
Clean the chicken and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Trim away any excess fat, but keep the skin on for added flavour.

step 2
Gently lift the skin a bit taking care not to tear it, and make shallow slits on the flesh with a knife. Squeeze the lemon all over the chicken skin, and also apply some juice on the flesh. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over. Keep in refrigerator.

step 3
For the marinade, grind together the remaining ingredients except butter to a smooth paste. Apply all over the chicken, inside out. Let it rest in the refrigerator for atleast two hours.

step 4
Grease your baking dish with a tablespoon butter. Keep the butter cubes at different places underneath the chicken skin, and also within the cavity. Place the chicken in the tray.

step 5
Bake the chicken at 180C for about 1 hour and 20-30 minutes. Halfway through the cooking, turn the chicken in the tray to ensure uniform cooking. If the skin appears to be drying out, apply the fat drippings in the baking tray over the skin while cooking.

step 6
I found that the skin underneath the chicken was soggy because it was submerged in the juices from the chicken. The chicken was well cooked, I didn't think it was a good idea to keep it in the oven for much longer. So, I placed the chicken on a rack and cooked it for a few more minutes till the skin seemed crisp enough.

step 7
Carve the chicken and serve with long grained white rice along with the juices from the chicken