Masala Roast Poussin

Murgh Musallam- is a Mughlai dish, pretty rich in flavour and absolutely tasty. Now that Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, I thought I should do a roast with an Indian twist. Its a really easy roast with meat that is marinated with spices, with some potatoes thrown in, and cooked half on the stove top, and finished it off in the oven. The poussins just made it even more easier, and somehow, roasting a whole bird gives it that fancy edge. They are absolutely easy to handle, and since they are small, the masala works its way into the thick breast bits, and takes much lesser time to cook. Recipe has been adapted from Kulsum’s Journey kitchen

Ingredients:

Poussins- 2, approx 450gms each, skinned and cleaned
Baby potatoes- 6 to 8, quartered or halved depending on size

To grind
Fried onions- 4 tbsp* (refer notes)
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Coriander seeds- 1 tsp
Cloves- 2
Cardamom pod- 1
Poppy seeds- 1 tbsp
Chilli powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Black peppercorns- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Powdered almonds- 1 tbsp

Ginger paste- 1 tbsp
Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Green chillies- 2, small, finely chopped
Tomato paste- 1 tsp
Yoghurt- 4 tbsp
Salt- to taste
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Oil- 1 tbsp

Method:

Grind together all the ingredients under the ‘to grind’ section. Transfer to a bowl.
To this, add the ginger and garlic paste, green chillies, tomato paste, yoghurt and salt and mix well to get a thick paste.
Add a few tea spoons of water if you think the mixture is too thick.
Place the poussin’s on a plate and make long insertions on the flesh (for the marinade to seep in).
Generously apply the marinade on to the birds, and also stuff some into the cavity, reserving about 2 tbsp of it for later use.
Cover with cling film and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I had time, so i kept it in there for about 2 to 3 hours. Best left over night I believe, but who has that sort of time and patience 😉

When ready to cook, heat a deep pot/pan, large enough to fit the 2 birds and pour in the oil and ghee.
When really hot, add the poussins one after the other, and sear on all sides.
You don’t need to cook the chicken here, just need it to be lightly browned all around. Its a bit difficult to move them around, so I used my big kitchen tongs to flip it and such.
Once the chicken is nicely seared on all sides, take them out and drain on paper towels.
Into the oil (add a bit more, if there isn’t much remaining in the pan), add all the remaining marinade. Scrape the bowl clean.
Sauté for a couple of minutes, till the raw smell disappears.
Into the masala add the baby potatoes and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes, making sure the potatoes are well coated in the masala.
Return the poussins back into the pan, adjust the potatoes around them, add about 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook on medium heat.
Keep checking in between to make sure it doesn’t burn and if you feel its getting too dry, then just add more water. I did add a 1/4 cup more.
Keep pouring the gravy on top of the poussins to keep them moist, and also try and stir the potatoes without breaking them.
Once both the potatoes and poussins are cooked (check by inserting a knife into the most thickest part of the bird and if juices run clear, you are good to go), transfer them into a baking dish along with all the gravy/
Grill under the broiler for about 10 minutes, just to crisp the tops. Of course, this step is purely optional.
Once done, take the dish out and let it rest for about 5 minutes, before you attack.
Serve with crusty bread and salad, or even with rice and roti.
Notes: *The fried onions I used were store bought. If you don’t have that option, then deep fry 2 small red onions till brown and crisp and use that instead. Make sure you don’t burn them, or else they would taste bitter.
Use 2 tbsp vegetable/ olive oil instead of ghee.
You can of course use one chicken instead of two small poussins.

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