Oven-Roasted Chicken Masala
This version of chicken masala packs tons of flavor without a lot of work. It’s a recipe that’s designed to be easily made on a weeknight, without having to skimp on flavor.
What is Chicken Masala?
There are many versions of this dish that are often found in Indian restaurants. Masala refers to a spice blend or spice paste used to season the dish. In this recipe, it’s the traditional north Indian spice blend garam masala. This version is a sheet-pan meal, and is easily served with a simple salad, and rice or naan.
How to Make a Simple Pan Sauce
Baking the chicken on a bed of onions gives a very easy way to make a sauce for this chicken. Once the chicken comes out of the oven, I remove the cooked pieces to a serving platter. Then I pour the cooked onions, and any juices and yogurt into a blender and run on high for 45 seconds. This produces a nice smooth sauce that can then be poured back over the chicken before serving. Garnish with some cilantro leaves and you’ve got a beautiful dish.
Oven-Roasted Chicken Masala
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 2-inch piece ginger
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (not thickened Greek yogurt, but if that's what you have on hand, just thin it with a little water)
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 4 pounds chicken pieces (bone-in)
- 2 small onions
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Grate garlic and ginger on a microplane into a large bowl. Combine with yogurt, olive oil, garam masala, and salt.
- Add chicken pieces to the bowl, toss to coat with marinade, and cover and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, pull out chicken from fridge an hour before putting in the oven and let come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, slice onions into 1/4" slices and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the marinated chicken on top in a single layer, and discard remaining marinade.
- Bake until the internal temperature on the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. (Use an instant read thermometer). Serve chicken with onion slices and use a spoon to drizzle pan juices around. Alternatively, you may pour onion and juices from the pan into a blender and run on high for about one minute until a smooth sauce is formed. Serve chicken drizzled with sauce. Roughly chop cilantro leaves and sprinkle over top for garnish.