Dry Chicken Ghee Roast
By Swasthi on August 6, 2022, Comments, Jump to Recipe
Dry Chicken Ghee Roast is a South Indian style chicken roast where chicken is cooked with spices and later roasted to perfection until aromatic and really delicious. This dry chicken ghee roast goes well as a side with plain rice, Rasam alongside any Vegetable Curry. You may also serve this with roti, paratha or chapati.
Chicken Roast
Chicken roast is one of the popular dishes made in various cultures, across the world and you are likely to find a zillion versions of the dish. There is whole chicken roast, chicken leg roast, Thigh roast etc.
This recipe of chicken roast is made with whole cut-up chicken that is bone-in. However you may use chicken legs, thighs or even bone-less cut chicken.
As the name suggests this is a dry dish meaning there is no sauce or gravy but it has a lot of aromatic and delicious semi-dry masala that coats the chicken. This recipe yields chicken roast that is tender, juicy, flavorful and super delicious.
About the Recipe
Ghee is the key ingredient used in this chicken roast but it can be replaced with butter. At home we call this the chicken ghee roast and a point to note is that this is not the same as Mangalorean chicken ghee roast.
This recipe is my Mom’s specialty and growing up this was our favorite Sunday dinner with steamed rice and rasam. Whoever has tasted this in our home has always complimented us and gotten back for the recipe.
To begin with chicken is cooked till tender with all the spices/masala and then ghee roasted with curry leaves and crushed black pepper. Curry leaves and pepper lend a great flavour to the chicken.
This is an easy make ahead recipe where you can cook the chicken, cool and refrigerate for the next few days. When you are ready to serve just roast the chicken under 5 mins & enjoy.
To make dry chicken ghee roast, left over good chicken curry can also be used. That’s how I end up making this most times. Just follow the step by step photos from step 2. Any curry that has been prepared with yogurt or tomatoes or lemon juice goes well to make this yummy chicken ghee roast.
I also have a low fat chicken roast in the same post. Please scroll down to find the same.
More Chicken Recipes
Chicken Varuval
Garlic Chicken
Pepper Chicken
Lemon Chicken
How to make Dry Chicken Ghee Roast (Stepwise Photos)
You can skip this step if you are using any leftover curry to make the ghee roast. or Marinate chicken with crushed onions, ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, lemon juice, garam masala, pudina or coriander leaves and ghee. Cook on a low flame till the meat is tender and soft. If there is surplus moisture left after cooking chicken, evaporate it by cooking on a medium high flame.
Add ghee to a pan, Fry curry leaves and garlic. set aside few curry leaves for garnish.
Add cooked chicken and fry till the masala dries up.
Sprinkle pepper powder and salt if needed to adjust. Fry for about one to two minutes till you get a nice aroma of pepper, ghee and curry leaves.
Garnish chicken ghee roast with curry leaves that were set aside.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Dry Chicken Ghee Roast
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 3 sprigs curry leaves , fresh
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ tablespoon black pepper , coarsely crushed (adjust to taste)
To Marinate and cook or use any left over curry
- ½ kg chicken (1.1 lbs bone-in or boneless chicken)
- 1½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves , pudina or chopped coriander
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric or as needed
- 1½ teaspoon Garam masala
- 1½ teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to suit your taste)
- 1 large onions or 2 medium (coarsely crushed or pulsed in grinder)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
Instructions
- To a pot, add chicken along with the ingredients mentioned under to marinate.
- Mix everything well and cook on a low flame till the chickn is tender and cooked completely.
- If you find moisture in the pot, Cook on a slightly high flame and evaporate it. Set this aside for about 30 to 45 minutes.
How to Make Dry Chicken Ghee Roast
- Heat a pan with ghee. Add chopped curry leaves and garlic. Fry until the curry leaves turn crisp. You can set aside few leaves for garnish if you want.
- To the pan, add the cooked chicken and begin to roast until all of the moisture dries up.
- When the masala gets roasted well but not burnt, sprinkle black pepper and salt if needed.
- Fry till you get a nice an aroma of pepper chicken ghee roast, for about 2 mins. The dish is done when the masala becomes aromatic. Switch off the flame.
- Garnish with curry leaves. Serve dry chicken ghee roast with rice and rasam or with roti. Squeeze some lemon juice if you want.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Low Fat Indian Chicken Roast (Recipe 2)
This chicken dry has been prepared with just 2 tsp of oil to make a little over 2 servings. Each serving size (4 oz or 113 grams chicken) consist of less than a 1 tsp of oil with no added fats of any kind. This is one of the best south Indian chicken recipes suitable to folks on a low fat diet, diabetics or gestational diabetics as well. Using less oil does not alter the taste, but you can add more oil like the way used for other dishes.
1. Add just a tsp of oil to a heavy bottom or non stick pan. Use the right sized utensil, do not use a very large pan to make little chicken. Add the whole spices and let them sizzle. Spread the oil in the pan.
2. Add chicken, spread the ginger garlic over it.
3. Cook covered on the lowest flame for about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Turn the pieces and cover back. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add onions, turmeric and curry leaves. Fry till the onions turn transparent. Do not increase the flame.
6. Sprinkle garam masala and red chili powder. Stir and cook covered again till it is soft cooked. Stir in between to prevent burning if needed.
7. Add another tsp. oil and fry for about a minute. Cover it again. Switch off the stove and leave it for 15 minutes on the burner.Keep covered until you serve.
Serve chicken dry as a starter or with jeera rice or with plain rice and tomato rasam.
Recipe Card 2
Low Fat Chicken Roast
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 bay leaf small
- 3 green cardamoms
- 3 cloves
- cinnamon stick small ,
- ¼ kg tender chicken (9 oz bone-in or boneless)
- 1½ tsp grated ginger garlic or 1 tsp paste
- salt as needed
- ¾ cup onions finely chopped
- 2 sprigs curry leaves fresh
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp. garam masala
- coriander leaves few chopped , to garnish
- lemon and onion wedges to serve
Instructions
- Cut chicken to small cubes.
- Add one tsp. oil to a heavy bottom or non stick pan. Spread the oil across the pan.
- Add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
- When they begin to sizzle, lower the flame and add chicken.
- Spread ginger garlic over the meat and sprinkle salt.
- Lower the flame to minimum.Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. It begins to release moisture.
- Stir the meat or flip the pieces.Cover again and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add onions, turmeric and curry leaves.
- Fry till the onions turn transparent.
- Add red chili powder, garam masala and stir. Cover again and continue to cook on the low flame till the meat is soft cooked and tender.
- Add one more tsp oil and fry for about a minute. Cover and off the stove. Let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve chicken dry with rice and rasam or any flavored rice and raita.
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Just tried this recipe, this turned out excellent …thank you
Welcome Reet
Glad to know! Thanks for leaving a comment
How can do a chicken 65?
You can check the recipe of chicken 65 here
Dear Swati, I love your recipes slot and I do follow those to cook delicious food for my family. If I say that that I learnt Indian cooking by seeing your recipes, that’s true. I am a srilankan who knew nothing about Indian cooking. Thank you and continue to do the same. All the best.
Hi Ruwani Gunarathne
Thank you so much for the wishes! Glad the recipes helped.
🙂
Tried this recipe today. Must say it was too yummy. Happy that it came out really well. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Looking forward to try many more from your collections ?
I followed ur exact recipe but my chicken looks almost white in color…nothing like ur pic and not even brown…since i used boneless i even added 1/4 tsp more garam masala and chilli powder too…and still it looks blank…why? What did i do wrong?
Hello Jen,
If you notice my step wise pictures, the chicken looks light as you mentioned. Resting the chicken for a few hours will change the color.
I never thought chicken will be tasty with this simple recipe.. thanks for the recipe.. very easy to make and liked it so much..
Welcome Malar
Glad to know! Thank you!
Thank you so much its very very easy to cook i loved it 🙂
Thank you for your recepie for dry roasted chicken. It turned out very tasty.
Most of the recipes I tried were really delicious
Thank you
Liked it a lot…homemade n healthy,,easy to prepare.thanks
Welcome Ruchi
Glad to know you liked it
Today I made peper chicken masala as your instruction. Yield is very very very…..supr.
your instruction is exact and hand made masala gives more taste….
.ch..ch…ch….
Thanks more…
welcome and thanks for the feedback.
Glad to know you liked it
Love masala : )
nce swathi chicken roast without tomoto looks yummy and easy too
Thanks bajoriya