Roast Chicken with East African flavors – It’s unbelievably crisp-tender and packed with so much flavor! With less than 10 mins prep tops!
If you go through my kitchen cabinet you would find all kinds of spices- Ranging from indigenous spices, straight from Africa, a collection of Asian and Caribbean spices, that I have collected over a couple of years, coupled with everyday basic American spices. I love them all! And, always on the look out for more.
You see, I easily get bored with spices, a far cry from a decade ago, that all I enjoyed was grilled steak with pepper and salt.Was so closed off to trying anything, that did not fall into a certain category of spices.
But now, am completely over that decade. AND there is this beast in me that want to try more. I have even mustered the courage to put together different spice blends- Oh yes!
I don’t know why I shed money buying copious amount of spice blends when I do have the ingredients rutting away in my pantry.
Why oh why! I am going to be sharing a few, so stay tuned.
This roast chicken is based on a few of East African(Kenya, Tanzania) and Swahili spices that I have come to love- cardamom one of my favorite both in sweet and savory dishes, cumin, ginger and heat!
Coconut oil adds another dimension to this Chicken,you may sub with any oil or butter.
This chicken is super crisp out of the oven and taste AMAZING! The prep time is an added bonus, 10 minutes or less -gather ingredients, wipe chicken rub and roast . How easy is that?
While it is cooking you can spend the rest of your free time watching TV, or fixing sides.
Adjust pepper according to preference. Heat seekers go for it and add more chili or cayenne pepper, don’t let me stop you from getting your groove on.
Enjoy!
Chicken With East African Flavors
Ingredients
- 3 -3 ½ pound whole chicken , or chicken parts
- 1 Tablespoon parsley or basil herbs
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoon ginger powder
- 1-2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½- 1 teaspoon cumin spice
- ½ teaspoon cardamom spice
- ½ teaspoon chilli pepper pepper or more
- 1/2 cayenne pepper optional
- 2-3 tablespoon or more coconut oil use any cooking oil
Instructions
- Wash chicken and place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer, if using chicken parts , then let them sit in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or preferable overnight. Do not cover them; let the air-dry them out. This is optional for extra crispy chicken , omit proceed with the spices.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°.
- Place the chicken in a large bowl or place rub with all the spicies, and then drizzle with oil.
- Line a baking pan with foil; top with a wire rack.
- Place chicken in roast pan, loosely cover and roast for about 50 minutes, then uncover and cook an additional 15 to 30 minutes. Remove and let it rest before serving.
Tips & Notes:
- Though it is advisable to let the chicken dry out in the fridge you do not have too. I rarely do it.
- You may place some rub under chicken. If you prefer salt chicken first and then combine all spices and use.
- Coconut oil adds another dimension to this Chicken, you may sub with any oil or butter.
Nutrition Information:
Dutchess says
Hello. I really want to try this delicious looking recipe but cannot find ground cardamom where I live. Is it possible to use whole cardamoms instead and if so, how do I incorporate them without them being overpowering? Do I roast them in a pan then grind them? How many of them do I use, etc.? I plan to cook this rotisserie style. Thanks in advance for your response.
ImmaculateBites says
Hello,
I know cardamon can be very overpowering . Ground a few pods then measure it out to 1/2 teaspoon. Then add to the rest of the ingredients .Hope this helps.
Heather says
So I’m in the process of making this. I’m confused by your directions. The ingredients call for chicken legs, but the pictures show a whole chicken. Then I think there are a few missing words in the instructions? And do I really cook legs for an hour, or is that for a while chicken?
ImmaculateBites says
This might be late response. I have gone ahead and updated recipe . So sorry for the mix up.
Brenda says
Really really yummy!!
imma africanbites says
Thank you. Glad you like it. 🙂
Liana says
This recipe is an inspiration. I stumbled on it a while back trying to find a Kenyan chicken recipe that matched my memory. I find myself going back to it time and again, often toying with which spices get included. Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! So happy to hear this . Thanks for taking time to to share your thoughts.
sophie tang says
Thank you so much for your recipe! I made this using only 2 chicken breasts and turned it into a stew (since I love stews)! I posted a picture of my 1 pan healthy chicken stew using this spice on your pinterest. I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
ImmaculateBites says
I must check out the picture on Pinterest. Thank you so much Sophie!
donnaQ says
I cook all my own meals from scratch, no mixes or cans or dump meals. I have celiac disease so I stick to the basic combinations (meat/vegetable/starch). I get a little bored of the proteins and really miss cheesy casseroles and oven baked lasagna… but I digress.
At this house, everyone seems to be a fan of the picnic pack (that’s cut legs/thighs) and crispy skinned chicken. So I thought I’d try the East African Chicken with the full complement of spices. It was a huge hit! Served with a cold cucumber salad and a sweet potato with butter and brown sugar, everyone pretty much munched happily and quietly through dinner. (A quiet dinner means the food is good.)
I’m quite bored with my cooking, even with the Indian, Nepalese, Thai and Chinese foods that I make (as well as the Mexican entrees I can make with my hand tied behind my back) as well as home-cooked foods like braised carrots, garden salads and baked chicken and fish. I am trying the sorghum sourdough pancakes next. Thanks for the recipe, good luck with your blog.
ImmaculateBites says
Aww thanks for wishing me well! You are so kind. I am a fan of crispy skin – my son wipes his plate clean when his chicken is crispy, oh yes he does! Thanks for taking the time to share such detailed feedback with us. Would love to hear how the pancakes turn out for you.
Have a Great Day!!!
ChiO says
Looks divinely delicious! YUM!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
What a gorgeous looking chicken dish! I realised last year that I could never cook without having my spice rack at the ready. Rachel was right, you’ve got such a lovely blog here Imamculate! 😀
ImmaculateBites says
Aww thanks lorraine. I am heading over to yours right now.
ImmaculateBites says
I totally agree with you that cardamom is so potent. However, here it blends well with the other spices- even my son who is not a fan ate this chicken with no reservations. Glad to know this is on your to make list.
Charlene @ That Girl Cooks Healthy says
This one looks interesting, especially the blend of spices. I’m always nervous to use cardamom since it’s so potent and previous failed attempts. I’m glad it’s the Easter holidays I’m going to spend more time trying other bloggers recipes and I’ve earmarked this one for this coming Saturday.
Nagi@RecipeTinEats says
Oh man – check out that rub! Jeeeezzzz…..I just shared an easter pork (Cuban style!) and told my readers I was so sick of pork that I wanted to have chicken for easter. I’m going to try this! Hell yes!!
ImmaculateBites says
Funny, because I’m in the mood for some pork. That cuban pork you have is simple delicious!