Recipes

Crisp Indian-Spiced Chicken with Cucumber-Tomato Raita

Name: Crisp Indian-Spiced Chicken with Cucumber-Tomato Raita
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: One 3 1/2-pound plain rotisserie chicken; 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; Cucumber-Tomato Raita

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It's amazing how flavorful and crispy a store-bought rotisserie chicken can become when basted with butter and a few Indian spices. It's especially delicious served with a cooling raita. (Be sure to salt the vegetables for the raita before you start preparing the chicken: They can be draining while you cook.) Quick Chicken Recipes

By David Rosengarten

Updated on February 6, 2017

Total Time:

30 mins

Yield:

4

Ingredients

One 3 1/2-pound plain rotisserie chicken
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Cucumber-Tomato Raita

Directions

Preheat the broiler. Using poultry shears, cut along each side of the chicken backbone and remove it. Spread the chicken, skin side up, in a medium roasting pan. Reserve any accumulated chicken juices.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the reserved chicken juices over moderately low heat. Stir in the ground cumin and cinnamon, the sugar, the ground coriander and cardamom, the turmeric, salt, cloves and cayenne and cook over low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Brush half of the Indian-spiced butter all over the chicken's skin. Broil the chicken 6 inches from the heat for 5 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and the meat is warmed through; shift the roasting pan, turning the front to the back, as necessary, to prevent the skin from charring.
Stir the remaining Indian-spiced butter and generously brush it all over the crisp chicken skin. Cut the chicken into quarters, then transfer the pieces to large dinner plates. Serve the spiced chicken immediately, passing the Cucumber-Tomato Raita at the table.

Serve With

Sautéed spinach and warm nan or warm pita bread.

Suggested Pairing

Pair the chicken with a dry, or slightly off-dry, German Riesling. Its peachy-floral flavors stand up to the sweet, warm spices in the rub without overwhelming the mild chicken.