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Curried Roast Chicken and Vegetables

By Cecelia Jenkins

Published on August 6, 2019

Time

1½ hours

Yield

Serves 4

Curried Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients

¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons)2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped coarse3 garlic cloves, peeled1 ¾ teaspoons table salt 1 teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon curry powder ½ teaspoon garam masala 1 small head cauliflower (1½ pounds), cored and cut into 1-inch florets1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts cut in half crosswise, 2 drumsticks, and two thighs), trimmed1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Before You Begin

We developed this recipe using Penzeys Sweet Curry Powder, a mail-order curry powder, which is neither too sweet nor too hot. We call for garam masala in this recipe, but you can omit it and increase the amount of curry powder to 1 teaspoon, if desired. This dish is great served with Raita Sauce.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Process lemon juice, oil, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, curry powder, and garam masala in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Toss cauliflower, potatoes, chickpeas, and ¼ cup spice puree together in medium bowl. Transfer cauliflower mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
  2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and transfer to now-empty bowl. Add remaining spice puree to chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated. Place chicken, skin side up, on top of vegetables in dish. Roast until breasts register 160 degrees and drumsticks/thighs register 175 degrees, 45 to 48 minutes.
  3. Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with aluminum foil. Stir vegetables in dish and return dish to oven. Continue to roast until fork inserted into potatoes and cauliflower meets no resistance, about 10 minutes longer.
  4. Transfer vegetables to platter with chicken. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve.
Curried Roast Chicken and Vegetables
Photography by Keller + Keller.

Curried Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Headshot of Cecelia Jenkins
By Cecelia Jenkins
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Time

1½ hours

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped coarse
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 ¾ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 small head cauliflower (1½ pounds), cored and cut into 1-inch florets
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts cut in half crosswise, 2 drumsticks, and two thighs), trimmed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped coarse
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 ¾ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 small head cauliflower (1½ pounds), cored and cut into 1-inch florets
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts cut in half crosswise, 2 drumsticks, and two thighs), trimmed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped coarse
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 ¾ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 small head cauliflower (1½ pounds), cored and cut into 1-inch florets
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts cut in half crosswise, 2 drumsticks, and two thighs), trimmed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Inspired by Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for Durban-style roast chicken, we wanted to make a full chicken dinner with a similar flavor profile. We chose bone-in chicken pieces to avoid having to carve a whole bird. For the vegetables, we opted for cauliflower and potatoes since they would cook at a similar rate. We coated the chicken and vegetables in a spice puree made of lemon juice, olive oil, ginger, garlic, sweet curry powder, and garam masala, which provided a deeply complex hit of fragrant spice. Placing the chicken skin side up atop the vegetables in a baking dish and baking everything together in a 425-degree oven ensured that the fat in the chicken skin was rendered nicely. Since the vegetables were still a smidge too firm when the chicken was finished cooking, we removed the chicken and popped the vegetables back into the oven for 10 minutes while the chicken rested.

Before You Begin

We developed this recipe using Penzeys Sweet Curry Powder, a mail-order curry powder, which is neither too sweet nor too hot. We call for garam masala in this recipe, but you can omit it and increase the amount of curry powder to 1 teaspoon, if desired. This dish is great served with Raita Sauce.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Process lemon juice, oil, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, curry powder, and garam masala in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Toss cauliflower, potatoes, chickpeas, and ¼ cup spice puree together in medium bowl. Transfer cauliflower mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
  2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and transfer to now-empty bowl. Add remaining spice puree to chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated. Place chicken, skin side up, on top of vegetables in dish. Roast until breasts register 160 degrees and drumsticks/thighs register 175 degrees, 45 to 48 minutes.
  3. Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with aluminum foil. Stir vegetables in dish and return dish to oven. Continue to roast until fork inserted into potatoes and cauliflower meets no resistance, about 10 minutes longer.
  4. Transfer vegetables to platter with chicken. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve.

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