Karan Gokani’s chicken curry traybake
Spiced chicken and tender vegetables combine in this traybake by Karan Gokani, co-founder of Sri Lankan restaurant Hoppers in London. “We came up with this dish when faced with the need to cook a quick, yet healthy, staff meal on a busy Saturday evening,” says Karan. “It’s an easy, well-balanced one-tray supper but equally impressive when served with some sides as an alternative Sunday roast.”
Ingreadient
- 1.2-1.5kg chicken, spatchcocked
- 1½ tbsp roasted Sri Lankan curry powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 10-12 curry leaves, finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2cm piece ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 red onions, roughly chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2.5cm rounds
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
- 5cm piece ginger, skin on and cut into 1cm slices
- 2 lemongrass sticks, bashed
- 10cm piece pandan leaf (optional)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 45g unsalted butter, melted
- 200ml chicken stock
- 150ml coconut milk
Instruction
- Start by marinating the chicken. Use paper towels to ensure the spatchcocked chicken is dry all over. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and rub all over, using a spoon to ease some under the skin. You may want to use gloves or risk having yellow hands for the rest of the day! Put the chicken on a large tray and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 2 hours or ideally overnight.
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan/gas 7 and remove the chicken from the fridge. Put the onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, pandan leaf (if using) and cinnamon stick in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, add the vegetable oil and toss well to combine, ensuring the vegetables are well coated in seasoning. Transfer to a roasting tray large enough to accommodate the chicken on top later in the cooking process. Roast for 15 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes.
- Put the chicken on top of the vegetables and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C fan/gas 6. Roast for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, baste the chicken with the melted butter, then add the chicken stock to the roasting tray, pouring it down the side so it doesn’t wet the chicken skin. Give the tray a good shake and roast for a further 15 minutes. Baste once again, add the coconut milk down the side and shake well. Roast for a final 15-20 minutes until the thighs reach 74°C at their thickest part and juices run clear.
- If at any point the skin or spices on the chicken begin to burn, baste with butter and cover loosely with foil. If, on the other hand, the chicken hasn’t taken on much colour at the end, turn the heat back up to 200°C fan/gas 7 and cook for a final 5-7 minutes on the top shelf.
- Once cooked, lift the chicken onto a chopping board. Remove the breasts and cut each in half, then separate the drumsticks and thighs to give 8 pieces of chicken in total with a piece of white and dark meat per portion. Give the vegetables and sauce a stir and taste for seasoning. Place the portioned chicken back onto the vegetables and serve immediately, taking the entire tray to the table.
