Frango à Zambeziana

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg whole chicken
• juice of 3 limes
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 100 g desiccated coconut
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 5 cm cinnamon stick
• 5 whole cloves
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 400 ml thick coconut milk
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 6 red piri-piri chillies, chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Before you cook

• Cut out the chicken's backbone with kitchen scissors and press the bird flat with the heel of your hand
• Slash the thighs and the thickest part of the breast to the bone, three cuts each
• Rub the chicken all over with the lime juice, half the garlic, the salt and the pepper, working it into the cuts
• Cover and refrigerate the chicken for at least two hours
• Light the coals so they have time to burn down to an even grey

Steps

1. Toast the desiccated coconut in a dry pan over medium heat for four minutes, shaking constantly, until it is the colour of straw.
2. Tip the coconut into a bowl and toast the coriander seeds, cumin, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in the same pan for ninety seconds.
3. Grind the toasted spices together with the coconut and the nutmeg to a coarse powder.
4. Heat the groundnut oil in a saucepan and cook the onions for eight minutes, until soft and pale gold.
5. Stir in the remaining garlic and the chopped piri-piri and fry for one minute.
6. Add the ground coconut masala and stir it over the heat for two minutes, until it smells toasted.
7. Pour in the coconut milk and tamarind paste and simmer for eight minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to cling to a spoon.
8. Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it stand at room temperature for twenty minutes.
9. Grill the chicken skin side up over medium coals for twenty minutes, keeping it well away from any direct flame.
10. Turn the bird skin side down and grill for fifteen minutes more, until the skin is blistered and dark in patches.
11. Brush the chicken generously with the coconut sauce and grill for five minutes a side, basting twice more as you go.
12. Check that the juices at the thigh joint run clear, then rest the bird for ten minutes.
13. Cut the chicken into quarters, scatter the coriander leaves over, and serve with the remaining sauce and rice.