Chicken Ghee Roast Mangalorean Style

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Rich aroma & authentic Mangalorean flavor: Slow-roasting the spices in ghee mellows the heat and develops a rich, tangy, and spicy taste, much like the famous Kerala Chicken Roast.
• Family favorite: A true Mangalorean classic that never fails at my home, just like Mangalorean Kori gassi. A dish my whole family loves, and even the kids happily enjoy it.
• Tried and Tested: Tested multiple times in my kitchen.
• Traditional Kundapur-style recipe: Inspired by Shetty Lunch Home,  Tuluva Mangalorean dish, where the iconic Ghee Roast is said to have originated.

Ingredients for Chicken Ghee Roast

• Chicken: Use boneless or bone-in chicken. I like bone-in chicken as it adds more flavor. You can also swap with prawns for a delicious prawn ghee roast.
• Ghee: The key ingredient. It adds richness, aroma, and a silky smooth texture. Do not reduce the quantity of ghee - It's ghee roast chicken. Always use fresh homemade ghee if possible, or good-quality store-bought.
• Byadgi Chilies - They give authentic, bright red color and mild spicy flavor to this ghee roast chicken recipe. You can substitute it with Kashmiri red chilies.
• Tamarind - A staple ingredient used in many Mangalorean dishes, like Mangalorean fish curry or rava fish fry. Adds tanginess to the masala. Can be swapped with lemon juice (flavour varies slightly).
• Curry leaves - Adds a distinct South Indian flavor, often used in dishes like Andhra-style chicken fry. Skip if not available.

How to make Mangalorean Chicken Ghee Roast

Marinate the Chicken

Step 1: Combine chicken, curd or yogurt, salt, and turmeric powder in a mixing bowl. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours in the refrigerator. (image 1).

Roast & Grind the Spices

Step 2: Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Dry roast coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin, pepper, fennel, cloves, and cinnamon until aromatic. Remove to a plate (image 2).

Step 3: In the same pan, dry roast byadgi red chilies until crisp (image 3). Remove to a plate. Let all roasted ingredients cool completely. I always deseeded the red chilies to reduce the spiciness (optional) (image 4).

Step 4: Add all the roasted ingredients to a grinder jar. Add garlic cloves and tamarind (image 5). Then grind with ¼ cup water into a fine paste (image 6). Use minimal water; otherwise, later roasting the masala in ghee will be difficult. Homemade ghee roast masala is ready. Set this aside.

Making the Ghee Roast Chicken

Step 5: Heat 2 teaspoon ghee in a pan. Cook the marinated chicken until it turns from pink to white and the marinade thickens slightly (image 7). Remove it to a bowl and keep covered (image 8). The chicken won’t be fully cooked yet, don’t worry, we’ll finish cooking it later.

Step 7: In the same pan, add 2 teaspoon ghee over medium-low heat. Add curry leaves and the ground ghee roast masala (image 9). Stir and cook the masala until it starts to stick to the pan. Add another 2 teaspoon of ghee and continue roasting the masala in ghee.

Step 8: Taste and add salt only to flavor the masala. Remember, we already added salt to the chicken. Keep stirring and roasting, adding ghee until the masala starts to release ghee from the sides (it will take about 15-20 minutes) (image 10).

Step 9: Add the chicken back to the pan (image 11) and coat well in the masala (image 12).

Step 10: Stir in 1 tablespoon ghee (image 13). Cover and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so the masala doesn’t stick (image 14). Uncover and cook for another 2 minutes.

Step 11: Finally, add jaggery, lemon juice, and curry leaves (image 15). Cook for 1 more minute, then remove from the heat (image 16). Serve hot with neer dosa, steamed rice, or dal.

Other Mangalorean Recipes to Try!

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