How to make the perfect Bangladeshi chicken roast! Bangladeshi chicken roast is a favorite in my parents house. I mean it’s moms specialty and she cooks it very often. Mom is a diva for rich food dishes so we practically grew up having all the best dishes on a regular basis. All thanks to mom for spoiling my siblings and I with great food. Bangladeshi chicken roast is a popular dish especially at weddings hence the name ‘biye barir roast’ and as much as it is served up at Bangladeshi weddings we all want to have a piece of roast even when there isn’t a wedding lol.

Tender chicken, with a saucy onion gravy (masala) delicious creamy rich flavor. A taste of garam masala and that slight sweet and tangy taste Mmm…. With pilau rice it’s a match made in Heaven. Well basically that is how much I love chicken roast. Mind you it’s nothing like a traditional British roast chicken which I also love. Bangladeshi style chicken roast isn’t cooked in the oven, it’s a stove top recipe. A Bengali style chicken roast made using chicken quarters most commonly leg pieces. But of course you can use chicken breast if you prefer.

Here you will learn how to make the perfect Bangladeshi chicken roast. There’s a whole process involving this chicken roast recipe. But it’s all worth the work and the end result is a taste of Bangladesh. If there is one thing I love most about Bangladesh then it has to be the food. I crave for food that I have during my trips to Bangladesh. My cravings for Bangladeshi food can be found a little closer to me then have to travel all the way to Bangladesh. Just over the pond to England of course where mom cooks up authentic traditional Bangladeshi food.

In this recipe I will be sharing Bangladeshi chicken roast recipe with a few tweaks I made from my mom’s original roast recipe. I’ll mention what she does and what I will be doing a little differently.

Ingredients for Bangladeshi chicken roast recipe

Chicken leg quarters, use skinless chicken and using a fork prick the chicken pieces all over. A process I remember mom doing while making roast. This helps all the flavors to get into the chicken.

Rub the chicken leg quarters with orange food color and salt. Mum usually uses turmeric powder. I noticed how the orange food color gives the chicken a darker color when cooked. If you want more of light color on the chicken then use turmeric powder.

Oil and ghee, fry the chicken in a mixture of oil and ghee. Frying the chicken gives the chicken some color and a slightly firmer texture on the outside and softer texture inside. The ghee gives the chicken a good flavor.

Make a marinade using pureed onion, ginger/ garlic paste. A greater quantity of ginger is used to garlic. Ginger gives a nice warm and zesty flavor. I am using pureed onions but mom sautes her onions and keeps it separate from the marinade. I guess this gives more flavor but takes just a tad longer. The pureed onions are just a quicker way to cook the onions with the other marinade ingredients.

A good amount of black pepper for a little heat as there is no use of chili powder. Natural yogurt to give the chicken a sour taste and help tenderize the meat.

Nutmeg and mace for extra flavoring. Mom always uses these spices in her rich dishes. Some whole spices like bay leaf, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick.

Tomato ketchup… mom doesn’t use this ingredient but I like that sweet and tangy taste. Also adds to the color too.

Then make a paste using white poppy seeds or cashews mixed in milk. This helps to thicken the gravy and adds to the flavor.

Garam masala, probably the most important, mom has her own recipe for garam masala, you could of course use the store bought. Garam masala is the main flavor maker for Chicken roast.

Fried onions, we call beresta in Bengali. You need to have beresta when you are cooking rich foods like pilau, roast, korma. Gives the roast a nice flavor.

Some sultanas for sweetness.

Bangladeshi chicken roast recipe

Recipe by Shema Course: MainCuisine: BangladeshiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Delicious Bangladeshi Chicken Roast

Ingredients

• 4 skinless chicken leg quarters

• Chicken marinade for frying

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• Pinch of orange food color

• 1/4 cup of oil for frying plus 2 tablespoon of ghee(clarified butter)

• Marinade for roast

• 1 large onion pureed

• 2 teaspoons of fresh minced ginger

• 1 teaspoon of fresh minced garlic

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of salt

• 2 tablespoons of plain natural yogurt

• 1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup

• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon of mace

• Whole spices 1 bay leaf, 2 green cardamom, 2 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick

• Poppy seed paste

• 2 tablespoons of ground white poppy seeds or ground cashews

• 1/2 cup of milk

• Other ingredients

• 1/4 cup of extra oil for cooking

• 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala

• 1/2 cup of fried onions(beresta)

• 1 tablespoon of sultanas(optional)

Directions

• Clean and pat dry chicken leg pieces
• Using a fork prick the chicken pieces all over
• In a bowl add in the chicken with the orange food color and salt, mix well and leave for 5-10 minutes
• To make the marinade
• In a food processor blitz the onion until puree
• In a bowl add the onion puree, minced ginger, minced garlic, salt, ground black pepper, tomato ketchup, natural plain yogurt, nutmeg, mace and whole spices
• Mix all these ingredients up really well and keep aside
• Frying the chicken leg pieces
• Add oil/ghee to a large pan, heat the oil/ghee
• Carefully add in the chicken pieces and fry on medium high flame for 4-5 minutes per side, trying to get some color on the chicken, light golden brown
• Take the chicken out of the pan and leave aside
• Add the extra 1/4 cup of oil to the pan with the remaining oil left from frying the chicken. Add in the marinade mix, cook on medium high heat for 5-6 minutes until oil comes to the surface
• Add in the fried chicken pieces, stir and add 1/4 cup of hot water, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat
• Uncover and add in the ground poppy seed mixed with the milk, stir and cook covered for an additional 10 minutes on a medium heat
• Uncover and stir, add in the fried onions(beresta), a few green chilies, garam masala, sultanas and ghee(clarified butter)
• Stir and cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes on a medium high flame
• Take the pan off the heat and serve hot with pilau rice.

Notes

• Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.