As far back as I can remember I have had a love affair with roasted chicken. As a foodie I derive a lot of joy out of eating. For me, a perfectly crisp skin of a roasted chicken, freshly taken out of the oven, can only be topped by a perfectly crunchy piece of tahdig. Throughout the years I have made many many many roasted chickens, and I have played around a lot with flavors and oven temperatures. This time though, I am pretty confident that I have found the perfect temperature and time to cook a perfectly roasted chicken!
I was in a mood to experiment with spices and decided to use our very own Advieh as a rub and see how it works out. I am happy to report that I LOVED the flavor. The taste and smell of Advieh simply brightened my mood. In fact, the chicken was incredibly fragrant!
The roasted chicken picture that you see above is probably the crispiest and most esthetically pleasing that I have ever made. I decided to try the Barefoot Contessa’s method by roasting the chicken at a higher temperature than I usually do. I am happy to report that the results were fantastic. The whole chicken was deliciously moist and the leg meat practically fell off the bone when I cut into it.
In the process of retesting my recipe, to make sure that my fabulous looking and delicious tasting chicken was not a fluke, I also noticed something new. Allowing the oven to stay on for a good 15 minutes at 425° prior to putting the chicken in made a huge difference. So I highly recommend turning on the oven before you start assembling the chicken.
Wash chicken and pat dry. Prep the ingredients by cutting onion in four sections. Arrange two sections at the bottom of an oven proof dish. Slice garlic length wise. Cut lemons in four sections length wise. Mix Advieh and Turmeric together. Also have salt and pepper on hand to add to both the inside and outside of the chicken.
Generously salt the inside of the bird with salt and a dash of pepper. Then rub the inside with Advieh and Turmeric mixture. Stuff the bird with the remaining half of the onion, sliced lemon, and garlic. 
Flip the bird on its breast. Brush the backside of the bird with olive oil all over. Then rub the spices, salt all over the chicken. Finish with a dash of pepper. 
Place the chicken in the roasting dish breast side up. Then brush all over with olive oil. Rub spices and salt all over the chicken. Finish with a dash of pepper. I always like to add the neck to my roasting pan as well. This is optional.
Tie the legs with cooking twine and roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature is 160° and the juices run clear.
You can serve this delicious chicken with Cardamom Potatoes and a salad such as Shirazi Salad.
- 1 whole chicken
- 4 tsp Advieh
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 lemon
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt & pepper
- Turn oven on to 425 degrees.
- Wash chicken and pat dry.
- Prep the ingredients by cutting onion in four sections. Arrange two sections at the bottom of an oven proof dish.
- Slice garlic length wise. Cut lemons in four sections length wise.
- Mix Advieh and Turmeric together. Also have salt and pepper on hand to add to both the inside and outside of the chicken.
- Generously salt the inside of the bird with salt and a dash of pepper. Then rub the inside with Advieh and Turmeric mixture. Stuff the bird with the remaining half of the onion, sliced lemon, and garlic.
- Flip the bird on its breast. Brush the backside of the bird with olive oil all over. Then rub the spices, salt all over the chicken. Finish with a dash of pepper.
- Place the chicken in the roasting dish breast side up. Then brush all over with olive oil. Rub spices and salt all over the chicken. Finish with a dash of pepper.
- Tie the legs with cooking string and roast the chicken for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 160° and the juices run clear.
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November 1, 2015
Many thanks for this very interesting recipe. I have been making roasted chicken for many years using different recipes but with mixed success. Your recipe is a very detailed one, and clarifies some of the steps where I have gone off the right path. In particular, I am sure that your suggestions regarding pre-heating the oven and the use of the persian advieh and turmeric make a big difference.
I love cornish chicken, and my question is whether this recipe can also be used for roasting cornish chicken. Many thanks in advance.
November 19, 2015
Heidi, yes, you can certainly use the rub for the cornish hens. But you’ll have to adjust the cooking time since they are smaller birds.