One of my favourite comfort foods is a chicken katsu curry. Crispy panko breadcrumbs, tender meat, mildly spiced curry sauce… it’s so enjoyable. You know what else I like? A roast chicken. So one Sunday I thought, why not combine the two? A whole roast chicken katsu curry!

Simple really; make a katsu-style sauce from two ingredients – or use your own katsu sauce if you prefer – then baste and roast a chicken on top. Easy!

I’ve served it here with another of my favourite things: roast cauliflower. And some rice perfumed with preserved lemons.

Why not try it for your next Sunday roast with a twist?

If you’d prefer a more usual chicken katsu curry, check out my recipe here. Or for something a little different, try my black garlic and chicken coconut curry.

whole roast chicken katsu curry

Gary @ BigSpud

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Course Main Dish

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

For the chicken

• 1 whole chicken about 1.5kg
• 1 heaped tablespoon curry paste e.g. korma
• 500 ml coconut milk
• 50 g breadcrumbs panko if you can get them

For the tangy rice

• 300 g basmati rice
• 1 red onion
• 1 preserved lemon
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the roast cauliflower

• 1 large cauliflower
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon black onion seeds

Instructions

 

For the chicken

• Preheat the oven to 170C. You'll need two baking trays, and a lidded pot or dish.
• Put a baking tray big enough to take the chicken on the hob and over a medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook for a minute until sizzling. Add the coconut milk and stir well to combine. Once the curry sauce starts to bubble, turn the heat off, put the chicken into the sauce and baste the chicken with some of the sauce. Put into the oven for about 1 hour 20 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. You may want to baste once or twice during cooking. After an hour, sprinkle over the breadcrumbs to crisp up.
• Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.

For the cauliflower

• Trim the cauliflower of stalks and leaves, and enough base so it sits flat in a lidded pot. In a pestle and mortar combine the garlic, seeds and curry powder with a pinch of salt, and add oil to form a paste. Douse the cauliflower with the mixture, put into the pot and add the lid. Cook for 45 minutes or until tender.

For the rice

• Fill your kettle with water and set to boil. Slice the onion into half moon. In a baking tray add some oil and put over a medium heat. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes until it starts to soften. Halve the lemon and add to the pan along with the rice and oil. Add 700ml of water from the kettle, a large pinch of salt and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. You may need to add a splash more water if the rice on top starts to dry out.