Pakistani Chicken Steam Roast

5 from 13 votes

Pakistani Chicken Steam Roast is a popular entree where a whole, skinned chicken is marinated in spices and slow cooked using steam.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Marinating Time1

Total Time1 1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani

Keyword: chicken steam roast, degi steam roast, lahori chargha, pakistani roast chicken

Servings: people

Calories: 279kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Equipment

Sharp Knife
Poultry scissors
Cutting Board
Butchers twine
Poultry injection syringe
Mortar & Pestle
Tupperware (SEE NOTE)
Large Wide Pot (SEE NOTES)
2 wooden spoons
Meat thermometer

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 NOTE)
8 garlic cloves (SEE NOTE)
2 serrano peppers (SEE NOTE)
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. Ofcourse, there is a little bit of leakage, as the video below reflects.

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 4 sides on full heat
Add 2 cups of water, cover the pot tightly, lower the heat to medium low and let the steam cook the meat in it's own juices.
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

Notes

Tupperware - Once the chicken is marinated, I like to leave it in the fridge overnight for the spices to really infuse the meat. A large tupperware with a tight lid works best for this purpose so that the smell of the garlic and ginger etc don't smell your fridge up.

Cooking Pot - The Pakistani steam roast is traditionally cooked on a stove in a heavy bottomed, wide pot with a good lid. It should be easy to move the chicken around in the pot and the thickness of the pot and the tightness of the lid should help insure that the steam stays in and cooks the meat fast and well.

Chicken -

Pakistani's generally don't eat chicken with skin on. Our traditional butchers sell both whole and cut up chicken with the skin off. However, living here in the USA I have often had to take care of this part myself.

It isn't as hard as it seems with a sharp knife and a pair of poultry scissors. I have made the short video to help you figure it out incase you are tackling this for the first time! Hope it helps.

For this recipe I recommend a whole skinless chicken about 4 lbs in weight. If you prefer however, you can also use leg quarters and thighs. But you will probably need to reduce cooking times by 10-15 minutes if you opt for this.

Ginger, Garlic, Serrano peppers - I like to use a mortar and pestle to grind these three together and make a fragrant paste that I apply to the chicken. I massage it in well on the surface and inside the cavity. This mixture adds flavor and is a great way to kill any odour of raw meat!

Smoked Paprika - I use smoked paprika in place of Kashmiri red chilies which is the more traditional option. I do this because paprika is easier to source, I like the smoky taste it gives the chicken and it adds some color to the meat. With the steam method of cooking (especially when the chicken is skinless) this can be a problem without this delicious spice!

Injecting The Marinade - When injecting the chicken, place your syringe just inside the surface of the top layer of skin and start pushing the liquid in. Don't inject more than 1 ounce in one particular location. Keep a paper towel handy as some liquid is likely to ooze out as you remove the syringe.

Move around the chicken, from breast, to leg to thigh to wing to evenly distribute the marinade. If too much starts to ooze out, it's usually a sign that you need to stop.

Cooking The Chicken - If the chicken is very tender and cooked to 165 degrees, it may be a good idea to remove it from the cooking pot while you dry out the liquid. This prevents the chicken from breaking. When you plate the chicken, just pour the cooked liquid over it to coat the meat.

Nutrition