chicken everest from Charmaine Solomon's Family Recipes, ©charmaine solomon 1998

REUBEN: Soon after we settled in Australia, Charmaine would go to work and I would mind the kids, then she would come home and take over and I would go to work. With youngsters in tow during one school holiday, I went to a large shopping centre where a cooking contest was being held. The prize was £30, which sounded like a small fortune to me then. I entered with this recipe. I didn’t win, but the recipe is in Charmaine’s ‘Complete Asian Cookbook’ and I’ve been complimented on it many times since!

1x 1.5kg chicken

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons finely grated ginger

11/2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon hot paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 curry leaves

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons ground rice

2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion

2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander leaves

warm water

Rinse and pat dry the chicken with kitchen paper. Combine the remaining ingredients with a few drops warm water to make a paste of spreading consistency. Rub the paste inside and outside the chicken, then set it aside for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put chicken into a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour or until done. If the bird browns too quickly, cover it with foil. Serve warm or cold with flatbread and a salad or with rice and a vegetable dish.

Deborah 2020: Is nothing sacred? I think Dad would approve of these changes.

Use an immersion blender to whizz up the marinade, and I have swapped 1 tablespoon tamarind puree for the lemon juice and Vietnamese / Thai ground roasted rice a I like that toasty flavour. Tip for ease of serving: cut the chicken down the backbone, remove the backbone itself and the ribs and breastbone, but don’t discard. They will cook up nice and crunchy. Sever the tendons at joint of thighs and drumstick but don’t cut all the way through into separate pieces. Do the same between the wings and breast. Apply the marinade, spread the chicken out flat on a baking sheet. Let sit an hour at room temperature,or if covered tightly, overnight in the refrigerator.

Let chicken come to room temperature before roasting as described above with the addition of 1/2 cup water in the base of the pan. Laying it out flat speeds up the cooking, so it will be cooked through in approximately 40 minutes. Don’t waste the pan juices! Large pieces of pita bread baked in the pan are delicious.