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Chaat Masala Roast Chicken

plus, new spices, smocks, and more ways to chaat

Sohla El-Waylly

Dec 1

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Chaat has got to be my favorite thing from my culture. We are a people who know how to snack. For the unfamiliar, chaat is a group of salty, sweet, sour, spicy snacks found throughout South Asia. (You can read all about it in this article I wrote a while back.) There are traditional chaats, like papri chaat and samosa chaat, but I firmly believe that anything can be chaat if you try hard enough.

Since you can’t live off of chaat alone (well, I probably could, but…) this Chaat Masala Roast Chicken has all the flavor of chaat, but it’s dinner! Chickpeas and matchstick potatoes roast under the chicken where edges get crisp, middles steam up fluffly, and some chickpeas become dense and meaty like the kala chana you often find in chaat. They’re tossed with peanuts and chaat masala, a spice blend that’s loaded with funky black salt and tangy green mango powder and can transform anything into chaat. But this recipe is still delicious if you don’t have chaat masala—really! Just add a little extra salt to the potatoes and finish with a squeeze of lime. (Note: You can buy chaat masala or make it yourself.)

I initially dry-brined the chicken with chaat masala, but its delicate flavors were lost after cooking. Instead, the chicken is glazed with honey because no chaat is complete without a hit of something sweet. A quick blender sauce brings freshness and acidity for some bright vibes.

new spices & smocks!

Ham and I have got a new spice blend with Burlap & Barrel that’ll bring that authentic ~Taco Bell flavor~ to your kitchen, Yo Quiero Taco Blend! It’s got XXXtreme flavor, perfect for chili, beans, and of course, hard shell taco night. But the real reason we made this blend was to achieve our childhood goal of making the ultimate Doritos Locos tacos, which we now can by pairing this with our Nothing Hidden Ranch.

Also, I’ve finally got smock aprons to call my own! I teamed up with Tilit, a brand Ham and I have worked with in professional kitchens, to make a smock that fits everybody, looks cute, and is durable. This baby can last wash after wash. Dare I say, it might be the last apron you’ll ever need.

You can get really wild and get the smock + spices duo pack. It comes with all three of our Burlap and Barrel spice blends and a smock in the color of your choice.