1 week Ago By Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Hawaij is a fragrant spice mix from Yemen and is used in stews and soups and as a spice rub for fish, seafood and meats. It makes a wonderful marinade base for a whole butterflied chicken, which you then roast until golden. I like to serve it with a fresh cucumber salad and some flatbread on the side.
Ingredients 1.4kg chicken, butterflied 2 garlic cloves, finely grated 1cm piece ginger, finely grated 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil flatbread, to serve 1 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp cumin seeds 2 tsp cardamom seeds 1 tsp peppercorns 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp sea salt 3 Lebanese cucumbers, roughly chopped large handful dill, finely chopped 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil juice of half a lemon 100g full-fat natural yoghurt Method To make the spice mix, toast the coriander, cumin, cardamom and peppercorns in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind the toasted seeds and peppercorns into a rough powder.
Transfer to a bowl with the ground turmeric and salt and stir to combine. Place the chicken on a baking or roasting tray. Add the garlic, ginger and olive oil to the spice mix, season with a little more salt and then pour on to the chicken.
Use your hands to rub the mixture all over the chicken on both sides. Sit the chicken skin side up, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2-3 hours or overnight. Bring the chicken to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Roast the chicken for 50-60 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest.
Meanwhile, for the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl; season with salt. Joint the chicken into 8 pieces and serve with the cucumber salad and the flatbread..
