Stuffed Spring Chicken Malabar Style / Whole Roast Chicken

Stuffed Chicken is very popular dish in malabar muslim families, they usually serve this during festive season. Its flavorful, mild and tender chicken dish; can serve as it is or with pathiri, appam or roti. As like other malabar muslim dishes I got this recipe from my school buddies. Im so glad that I could try all these traditional dishes with the help of them, thanks dears for wonderful recipes. Here is recipe for you all to try.

Ingredients

To marinate

• Spring Chicken 600gm
• Onion 1 medium size, crushed
• Ginger 1 medium piece, crushed
• Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
• Lemon Juice 1 tbsp

For stuffing

• Egg 1 boiled
• Cashew Nuts 1 tbsp
• Raisins 1 tbsp
• Chana dal 1 tbsp, cooked
• Curry Leaves few 
• Onion 1 medium size, sliced
• Green Chili 2 slited
• Ginger 1 small piece, chopped
• Coriander Power 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder 1/4 tsp
• Salt
• Oil

For the gravy 

• Onions sliced 2 big size, thinly sliced
• Green chillies 3 nos, slited
• Tomatoes 2 medium, thinly sliced
• Ginger garlic paste 2 tsp
• Red chilly powder 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
• Fennel Seed Powder 1 tsp
• Garam Masala / Biriyani Masala – 1/2 tsp
• Chana Dal 2 tbsp, cooked
• Coriander Leaves few chopped
• Salt
• Ghee / Oil 

Method

Remove chicken skin and mix well with little turmeric powder and lemon juice. Make some tiny slits on it so that can marinate masala will stick properly. Then rinse well with water for few times then drain water well and keep it aside. Take a small bowl and add ingredients under 'to marinate' mix everything well with your hands. Now apply this paste into the spring chicken well and to keep it for 2 to 3 hours in the fridge. 

Mean while we can prepare the stuffing. Heat oil in a pan and fry cashew nuts and raisins, then saute onions,curry leaves,green chillies and ginger until onion turns translucent. Now add the red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder and fry it in medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add cooked chana dal and mix every thing well. Add salt and mix together. Finally add the boiled egg (whole),and fry for few more minutes. Switch off the flame and keep it aside. Once it cool a bit then can stuff the chicken. Remove marinated chicken from the fridge. First push the eggs into the cavity and then the onion masala, be careful not to overstuff. Now using a kitchen twine tie together chickens legs first ,and then the hands. You can use some tooth picks too to cover the chicken well. 

Take a medium size sauce pan or big kadai and add 2 tbsp of ghee in it. Once the ghee melts and the pot is hot add marinated and stuffed chicken into it and shallow fry until all the sides are slightly browned and remove from pot and keep it aside. In the same pot add some more ghee or oil and once it hot add sliced onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add ginger garlic paste and saute for few seconds. Add green chillies now and saute for few seconds. Now add sliced tomatoes and combine everything well. Add some salt and cover and cook until the tomatoes are soft. Open and add red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, fennel seed powder and garam masala powder and fry for few seconds. Add cooked chana dal and combine everything together. Check the salt and add if needed. Now keep stuffed and fried chicken into this gravy and cover and cook on low medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes. Open and sprinkle some coriander leaves and mix well. Now remove chicken carefully from the pot and keep into the serving plate and pour the gravy over it and serve. You can cut chicken into half and serve. 

NB: If you want can omit the chana dal. Instead of cooking stuffed chicken in the gravy you can bake them in the oven too. If you are baking then keep it in 180 degree for 8 to 15 minutes. Enjoy cooking..