A great dish for a gathering, really popular, can be made ahead and the flavours improve.
Serves 8
2 x 1.5kg free range chickens
1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric sea salt
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped
3/4 cloves garlic, chopped 2/3 sticks lemongrass, chopped
thumb size piece ginger, chopped 3 red chillies, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar juice and rind of 2 limes
2 x 400ml cans of coconut milk 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
Start, if possible, a day ahead to allow the chicken to marinate in the spice mix, Cut each chicken into 8 pieces, keep the backbone for stock, mix the cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt together. Coat the chicken pieces in the spice mix and leave in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to cook, set oven 180c gas 4 Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onions until golden, whizz the garlic, lemongrass, ginger and chillies together in the processor, then add the paste to the onions in the pan and cook for a minute or two, add in the sugar, cook for another minute until the sugar just caramelizes, then add the lime juice and rind, coconut milk and fish sauce or soy. Simmer for a few minutes, set aside while you brown the chicken, Heat a little more oil in large pan and brown the chicken in batches, transfer the chicken as it browns to a large deep baking dish, when all the chicken is done, Pour the sauce over the chicken, cover and bake for about an hour or until the chicken reaches 75c on the probe. Check the seasoning, you want a nice balance of hot, sweet, sour and salty. Serve with chopped coriander, chillies and some lime wedges,
