This Roast Chicken (Pakistani Steam Roast) recipe, also known as Degi Steam Roast, uses an ancient South Asian cooking method called "dum." An effortless marinade followed by hands-off slow cooking on the stovetop transforms the simple chicken into a banquet-worthy dish.
This roast chicken recipe involves cooking whole chicken or pieces in a heavy-bottomed pot on a low flame. The pot is tightly sealed so steam forms, and the meat is cooked in the marinade and its juices. This delicious recipe is historically famous at weddings and special occasions like Eid in South Asia.
Today, steamed chicken is gaining popularity, and we see it increasingly as a popular street food in Pakistan and India. Growing up, we ate the spicy chicken roast as a Friday afternoon feast (a holy day for Muslims and the equivalent of a Sunday Roast).
This unique recipe was inspired by my roasted-leg-of-goat-raan, which is also cooked using the "dum" method and is on this site. It pairs well with spicy-masala-smashed-potatoes, air-fryer asparagus recipe, roasted kabocha squash, and chili-lime-potato-stacks.
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Why you'll love this roast chicken recipe
- Hands-free cooking - While the chicken roasts slowly for 1 hour, there's no active cooking involved. Just set a timer and walk away.
- Juicy and tender - Steaming the chicken always results in succulent, fork-tender meat that's delightful to eat.
- Refreshing flavor - The marinade flavors the roast chicken well without making it too spicy. If you're looking for an unusual recipe, this is it.
Ingredients for the roast chicken
The main highlight of my Steam Roast Chicken Recipe is the two-part marinade. The poultry marinade injection ensures that the steamed chicken roast is juicy throughout.
Ingredients for injecting the chicken
The picture below shows the ingredients that go into this injection. When preparing the injection, it's essential that the ingredients used pass through the syringe easily. I use a combination of flavorful liquids and soluble powdered spices listed below:
- Chicken stock - Use salted homemade chicken broth or store-bought one.
- Melted Butter - The secret to juicy chicken is fat; salted melted butter hits just the spot.
- White Distilled Vinegar - This is an ingredient most of you will likely have on hand. It adds a nice, pungent flavor to the marinade.
- The spices—To flavor the chicken, use a simple blend of turmeric, coriander, and red chili powder. If you want it spicy, use hot chili powder; if you like it less spicy, use Kashmiri chili powder.
- Lemon Juice - A squeeze of lemon adds acidity and rounds out the marinade.
Ingredients for the chicken marinade
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- Salt - I like to add salt directly to the surface and massage it into the chicken well. This is an essential ingredient that needs to be worked into the meat.
- Ginger and garlic Paste - I like to use fresh homemade paste for the best flavor.
- Serrano Pepper - Grind these to a paste and apply to the surface of the chicken.
- Smoked Paprika - I also like to add smoked paprika to the surface for a slightly smoky flavor. It also gives the cooked roast a beautiful color.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and recipe instructions.
Substitutions & variations
- Cornish Hens—Since these are smaller than a 4 lb chicken, they cook in half the time it takes to roast an entire chicken. There is no need for the injected marinade. Instead, mix the lemon and dry spice powders with the marinade you will apply to the surface of the chicken. Omit the butter, vinegar, and chicken broth completely. I like to skin my Cornish hens to get that authentic steam roast taste.
- Turkey—For Turkey, leave the skin on and roast it in the oven instead of steaming it. Apply the marinade as instructed, both the injection and the surface marinade. Add a little butter to the surface mixture, about one tablespoon per pound of meat, to help crisp up the skin. For baking times, I would bake Turkey in a preheated oven at 350 degrees, 13 minutes per pound of turkey.
- Change up the injection—Try a BBQ version of the roast chicken by injecting rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, brown sugar, and sriracha, or a Cajun version uses a pre-mixed Cajun spice blend with apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper.
How to cook the roast chicken
- First step - Skin and prep the chicken to be marinated as instructed in the video in the recipe card below.
- Second step - Prepare the solution for the injection and inject the chicken.
- Third step - Prepare the marinade for the chicken's surface and massage it well into the chicken. Marinate overnight for best results.
- Fourth step - Preheat the cooking oil and add the chicken to sear.
- Fifth step - Flip the chicken over after about 5 minutes and sear the other side.
- Sixth step - Add four cups of water, cover the pot with aluminum foil, followed by the lid, and steam the chicken.
- Seventh step: Uncover after 45 minutes and check if the meat is cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the chicken to a bowl or platter.
- Eighth step: Turn the flame high and cook until the leftover liquid is thickened. Add the chicken back to the pot to coat it in the gravy. Serve the roast chicken with the leftover sauce to prevent the meat from drying.
Expert Tips
- Source the proper chicken - To ensure a juicy roast chicken, try to get a chicken that weighs about 2-3 pounds. The larger the chicken, the tougher the meat. At most, the chicken should be 4 pounds.
- Use a thermometer - To ensure the chicken cooks through, use your thermometer to check various points in the chicken. Get readings from the thigh, wing, and breast for complete accuracy.
- Cooking time - For the perfect juicy roast chicken, remember to calculate cooking times based on the size of the bird. The average is 11-18 minutes per pound of meat. On my gas stove and in my particular pot, which is wide with a heavy base, I average about 11.5 minutes per pound.
Recipe FAQS
The obvious answer is the parts you want browned—usually, the breast, legs, and wings! However, since the legs and thighs take longer to cook, if you place the chicken breast up, it will get too dry. Keeping this in mind, the best practice is to place it sideways!
The "Dum" cooking method is a traditional Pakistani method of cooking food. The food is placed in a heavy-bottomed container, tightly sealed, and steamed over a low flame, often for an extended period.
Steaming a chicken is quicker as the steam cooks the chicken more rapidly at high heat. The result is juicier chicken as the moisture from the steam prevents a crust from forming on the surface of the meat.
I carve all the meat off the bone for any leftovers and store them in an airtight Tupperware container in the fridge. Leftover roast chicken can stay in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or frozen for up to 6 weeks. When eating the chicken, I defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat it in the microwave.
Other chicken recipes you may like
For more Pakistani recipes like this, check out 20 popular Pakistani recipes. If you decide to try this recipe, Please don't forget to leave a rating and comment below! If you take a picture, tag me on Instagram! Thank You
Roast Chicken (Pakistani Steam Roast)
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Ingredients
Poultry Injection Marinade
- 4 lb whole chicken (see notes)
- 1 lemon
- ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp red chili powder
Chicken Marinade (For Surface)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 inch piece ginger (see notes)
- 8 garlic cloves (see notes)
- 2 serrano peppers (see notes)
- 2 tsp red chili flakes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika (see notes)
Instructions
Skin The Chicken
- Traditional Pakistani Roast Chicken is made without skin on the chicken. If you source your chicken from a Pakistani butcher they will skin it for you. If not, follow the instructions in the video below!
Inject The Marinade
- To insure that the chicken is juice and flavored really well on the inside I like to inject it with a spicy liquid marinade as well as massaging the outside with a prepped mixture.
- Melt the butter, squeeze the lemon juice and then mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Using a poultry injection syringe, work your way around the chicken and inject the liquid just under the skin (see notes)
- The rule is to inject 1 oz of liquid per pound of meat. Too much, and it will start oozing out. Of course, there will be some leakage, as the video below reflects. Just massage this into the surface of the chicken.
Marinate The Surface Of The Chicken
- The most important step is to make sure the chicken is well salted, so rub the salt and massage it in well into the skin. I find ½ teaspoon a pound of chicken sufficient as the broth I use has some salt in it too. Feel free to adjust if necessary.
- Next I grind my ginger, garlic and serrano peppers in my mortar and pestle and rub them all over the chicken to flavor it.
- The last step is to use the crushed red chili pepper flakes for some spice and the smoked paprika for some added flavor and color (see notes)
Cook The Chicken
- Heat the cooking oil.
- Sear the meat lightly on all four sides on full heat.
- Add 4 cups of water, cover the pot tightly, lower the heat to medium-low, and let the steam cook the meat.
- Once the meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, dry out the liquid to a thick gravy and pour it over the roast just before serving.
Video
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