Whole Roast Chicken Tikka Recipe
Time to tikka break
What is special about this whole roast chicken tikka recipe?
Roasted to perfection and packed with tikka spices! This whole roast chicken tikka recipe is bursting with bold spices, crispy skin, and juicy meat — perfect for family feasts or special dinners!
You’ll love it if…
… you’re looking for a showstopping centrepiece of whole roast chicken with bold flavours, big spices, and super easy to do.
People have interesting party tricks. Some people can saber a champagne bottle, some people can tie a knot in a cherry stem with their tongue. No shade to them, but if you want a really cool party trick that doesn’t involve carrying a sword or demonstrating tongue dexterity, have you tried cooking a whole roast bird?
This is not any whole roast chicken, this is a whole roast chicken with tikka spices. This bird is delicately spiced and fragrant with juicy, tender meat. This bird is also vibrantly red with a crispy skin, much like your auntie come back from her holiday in Mallorca. Unlike your auntie though, this bird is a show stopper.
Trust me when I say, turning up with this whole roasted chicken tikka at a party will make you a lot more popular than being able to open a champagne bottle. Maybe on par with tying a cherry stem, but that’s for different reasons. Anyway, moving on… let’s get this tikka party started.
Prepare the Ingredients
Make the Tikka Spice Marinade
Mix together the marinade ingredients of spices, Greek yoghurt and honey to make a paste : taste and add more salt if required.
Spread the marinade over the raw chicken and massage in so that the whole chicken is coated well.
Leave to marinade in a covered container in the fridge for 6 hours, or overnight.
Roast the Chicken
In a preheated oven at 150℃ / 300℉, roast the chicken for an hour. After an hour, remove the foil and return the chicken to the oven to cook for another ten minutes at 200℃ / 400℉. This will crisp up the skin.
Serve and Enjoy!
Remove from the oven and rest for 15-30 minutes. Serve carved up or whole as a vibrant centrepiece.
- Liquid Smoke : I’m a big fan of liquid smoke to impart a deeper smokier flavour to nearly all roasted dishes. This whole roast chicken tikka recipe is no exception. When used in the marinade, liquid smoke gives it an identical smoky flavour to chicken roasted in a tandoor. However this is optional, the chicken will taste amazing without it too.
- Butter makes it better : to make the chicken more flavourful, carefully separate some of the skin from the raw chicken breast and lift it, without tearing it or fully separating it from the breast. Add 1 tablespoon of salted butter for each side of the breast under the skin, between the skin and the flesh.
Whole Roast Chicken Tikka
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Optional – Butterfly or ask the butcher to butterfly the chicken
- With a sharp knife make a few slits in the legs.
- Mix together the marinade ingredients well, taste and add more salt if required. The marinade should be saltier than normal.
- Chefs tip – to make the chicken more flavourful, carefully separate some of the skin from the raw chicken breast and lift it, without tearing it or fully separating it from the breast. Add 1 tablespoon of salted butter for each side of the breast under the skin, between the skin and the flesh.
- Spread the marinade over the raw chicken and massage in so that the whole chicken is coated well.
- Leave to marinade in a covered container in the fridge for 6 hours, or overnight.
- Put the chicken on a wire rack over a roasting tray. Put a piece of foil over only the breast area of the chicken, to insulate it from direct heat and stop it from overcooking.
- In a preheated oven at 150℃ / 300℉, roast the chicken for an hour. After an hour remove the foil and return the chicken to the oven to cook for another ten minutes at 200℃ / 400℉. This will crisp up the skin.
- Remove from the oven and rest for 15-30 minutes.
- Serve
Video
FAQ
Making cuts in the thighs of the raw chicken helps the marinade to penetrate deeper. Marinate the chicken in a yogurt-based tikka marinade for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight to allow deep flavour penetration.
Spatchcocking or butterflying the chicken flattens it; this promotes uniform cooking and a crispier skin. Place a piece of foil only covering the breast when roasting helps the breast stay succulent while the legs and wings cook.
Serve it with the Chef’s recipe for curry yoghurt dip, or pair it with naan, jeera (cumin) rice, or a fresh cucumber raita to complement the bold flavours.
Related Recipes
Authentic Chicken Tikka Masala (coming soon)
Yoghurt Dip with Curry Spices (coming soon)
