Chicken Roast Dhakai is NOT a Western roast — it is a rich, Mughal-inspired Bangladeshi chicken curry from Old Dhaka, where whole chicken pieces are marinated in yogurt and spices, then slow-cooked in a thick, aromatic gravy of fried onions, ghee, and milk. It is a centerpiece of Dhakai weddings and the companion to Kacchi Biryani at every celebration.
Chicken Roast (locally just called 'roast') is a Mughal-inspired dish from Old Dhaka, the historic heart of Bangladesh's capital. Despite the English name, it is not roasted — it is a rich, slow-cooked chicken curry made with yogurt, ghee, fried onions (bereshta), and milk. The dish is a centerpiece of Dhakai wedding feasts, always served alongside Kacchi Biryani (already in the database). The Mughal influence on Old Dhaka's cuisine is deep (Dhaka was a Mughal provincial capital), and 'roast' is one of the most refined expressions of that heritage — the chicken is marinated overnight, then cooked in a sealed pot (dum) until meltingly tender.
A piece of chicken in a thick, golden-red, glossy gravy — the sauce is rich with ghee, sweet from fried onions, tangy from yogurt, and fragrant with cardamom and cinnamon. The chicken is so tender it falls off the bone. The gravy coats the rice. It is the most luxurious chicken dish in Bangladeshi cooking.
The chicken is marinated overnight in yogurt, ginger, garlic, and spices. The onions are fried separately until deep golden (bereshta), then ground into the gravy. The cooking is slow and gentle (dum method — sealed pot, low heat) so the chicken cooks in its own juices and the marinade. Milk or cream is added at the end for richness. The dish should be quite oily (ghee on top is a sign of quality).
Variations
Some use milk instead of cream; some add kewra water; some use whole spices more generously; the marination time varies.
On the Palate
Where Chicken Roast Dhakai sits in the Bangladeshi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
9 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour 30 min waiting
- 1720 min
Marinate 1 whole chicken (cut into 8 pieces) in 200 g yogurt, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp garam masala overnight.
- 215 min
Fry 3 sliced onions in 100 ml oil until deep golden (bereshta); remove; drain; grind to a paste.
Watch outFry the onions slowly to a deep even brown — that bereshta is the gravy's backbone; pull them at golden and the sauce lacks depth, push to black and it turns bitter.
- 35 min
Heat 50 g ghee in a heavy pot; add 2 bay leaves, 4 cardamoms, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 cloves.
- 45 min
Add the marinated chicken; brown 5 minutes.
- 55 min
Add the onion paste, 100 ml milk, and 200 ml water.
- 645 min
Cover tightly (seal with dough if possible); cook on very low heat 45 minutes.
Watch outCook it sealed on the lowest heat — no steam should escape; the chicken should braise gently in its own juices, so if you hear a hard bubble, drop the flame.
- 710 min
Remove the lid; cook 10 minutes to thicken the gravy.
Watch outUncover and reduce until the gravy thickens and ghee glistens on top — that sheen of oil surfacing is the traditional mark that it's done.
- 82 min
Finish with 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tsp garam masala.
- 91 min
Serve with biryani or rice.
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