SPICED ROAST CHICKEN PITTA POCKETS

Pitta pockets are the best. Roast chicken stuffed into pitta pockets with a creamy, herby, garlicky sauce and a tomato and onion salad. That's the best. Coating a chicken in delicious ground toasted spices - also the best.

10 Mins Prep 1 Hour 30 Mins Cooking

Ingredients

(To Serve 4)

A Large Chicken
Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
Teaspoon Black Peppercorns
Half Teaspoon Chilli Flakes
Teaspoon Powdered Turmeric
Teaspoon Garam Masala
Pinch Of Flakey Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic
Half a Lemon

A White Onion
2 Tomatoes
Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

Handful of Parsley
Handful of Mint Leaves
Pinch of Salt
Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Teaspoon Olive Oil
Clove of Garlic
3 Tablespoons Greek Yoghurt or Labneh

4-6 Pitta Breads

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Preheating is so important or your skin won't crisp. In a dry pan over a medium heat add your coriander, mustard and cumin seeds, your black peppercorns and your chilli flakes. Toast these for a minute or so until you begin to smell something quite lovely. Use a pestle and mortar to crush them to a fine powder with some flakey salt and then stir in your turmeric and your garam masala. This is your spice mix and will make everything taste lovely.
Get your chicken out. You can spatchcock it if you want/know how to. This will reduce the cooking time. I didn't. I like to place it on a grill/wire rack on a tray so that it cooks more evenly. Add a little olive oil to the skin and coat it in all of your spice mix. Make sure that the chicken is fully covered. Pop it into the oven for roughly an hour and a half. Most chickens are safe with an hour and a half. After an hour and a half - take it out and rest it, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
As your chicken cooks you can prepare your salad. Peel and finely dice a white onion. Slice your tomatoes in half and scrape out the seeds. Finely dice these. Mix the tomato and onion in a bowl with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Make your garlic and herb yoghurt by finely chopping your parsley and mint leaves. Add these to a bowl with a pinch of salt, lemon juice, olive oil, a grated clove of garlic and mix in your yoghurt. Set aside.
Pop your pitta breads in the oven for about 3 minutes after you've taken the chicken out to rest. Carve your chicken and slap it in the warm pitta with some onion and tomato salad and minty, herby, creamy yoghurt. Properly pengers. I thought so.