In Uthal, in Balochistan, sajji cooks on skewers between two fires, one burning on each side, so the meat browns all the way around at once. At home the bird roasts in the oven instead, and the kitchen fills with toasted cumin, coriander and lemon while the skin goes from pale to deep gold. Sajji is a whole roast seasoned mostly with salt. The flavor is clean and direct: a salty, slightly sour bird from an overnight brine, warmed by black pepper and green chili, with the sharp, caraway-like bite of ajwain running through the crust.
Sajji in Balochistan: Whole Meat, Salt and Fire
Sajji comes from Balochistan, the southwestern province of Pakistan. The traditional form uses a whole goat or lamb, rubbed with salt, stuffed with rice and cooked in an earth oven or over open fire. The seasoning stays spare. Many cooks use salt alone, and with lamb some spread a paste of green papaya over the meat before it goes to the fire. The photographs from Uthal show the dual-sided fire at work, the skewered meat held between two beds of coals.
Outside its home ground the dish travels in other cuts. Cooks make it with chicken, leg of lamb or mutton. In cities and at commercial sajji stalls, chicken is the usual choice because it costs less than a whole lamb. Fillings also change from cook to cook, with potatoes as well as rice packed inside.
The rice belongs to the meal one way or another. Traditionally it either cooks under the roasting meat, catching what drips down, or is cooked separately with the meat juices stirred through. Shredded roast meat folded into pilaf becomes sajji pulao, and the pilaf in this recipe follows that path, using meat pulled from the roasted bird. If you want rice and meat cooked together in one pot, Sindhi biryani is the dish to turn to. For a chicken dinner from the same country built around a pan instead of a fire, try chicken karahi.
This version is built for a home oven. A whole chicken spends a night in salt and vinegar brine, takes a paste of lemon, green chili, garlic, ginger and freshly toasted spices, and roasts low and steady. The rice goes in its own pot, and the bird stays empty, which lets you pull it from the oven the moment the thigh is done.
One bread served with sajji is kaak. The dough is wrapped around a stone and baked over open fire. Naan or roti is also served with it.
Ingredients
Ghee is a dairy product (milk). Raita served on the side is made with yogurt (milk).
Equipment
- A container or pot large enough to submerge the whole chicken, that fits in your refrigerator
- Small heavy pan for toasting seeds
- Mortar and pestle or spice grinder
- Blender
- Oven with a rotisserie, or a roasting tray with a rack
- Drip tray (for the rotisserie)
- Kitchen twine
- Instant-read digital thermometer
- Heavy pot with a lid for the pilaf
Choosing and Substituting
Ajwain is the one spice worth a trip to a South Asian grocer or an online order; look for it under carom seeds. It gives the crust its sharp, herbal edge. Leave it out if you cannot find it, and the bird tastes more of cumin and pepper alone. Green cardamom powder comes from the same shelf; buy it ground, or grind the seeds from green pods yourself. Basmati rice is sold at import grocers and online, and its long, separate grains are what the pilaf is meant to have.
The rest comes from an ordinary supermarket. Choose a whole chicken of about 2 lb (900 g), skin on, as small birds are sold. Any plain white vinegar or rice vinegar works for the brine. The four green chilies set the heat of the paste; use fewer for a milder bird. Green papaya paste belongs to the lamb versions roasted over coals and has no place in this chicken.
Buy coriander, cumin and ajwain as whole seeds. Toasting them just before grinding gives the crust far more aroma than ready-ground spice, and grinding them coarse leaves small crunchy flecks on the skin.
Method: Brine Overnight, Roast by Temperature
The work begins the evening before, when the chicken goes into the brine for at least 12 hours. The next day, rinse and dry the bird, then toast the spices and blend the paste while it sits on the counter. Wash the lemons, green chilies, onion and fresh coriander well under running water before using them. The 40 to 50 minutes in the oven are hands-off apart from one turn on a tray. Start the pilaf aromatics while the chicken rests, then cook the rice with meat pulled from the roast.
Keep the brining chicken in the refrigerator the whole time; never leave it out at room temperature. Keep raw chicken, its brine and anything that touched them away from other food, and pour the brine away after use. The chicken is done only when the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F (74°C).
When It Goes Wrong
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The breast is dry while the thigh is still under temperature | The breast cooks faster than the legs | Lay foil over the breast and keep roasting until the thigh reads 165°F (74°C) |
| The skin is pale and soft | The skin was still wet when it went into the oven | Next time, pat it completely dry after rinsing off the brine |
| The meat tastes too salty | The brine was left on the bird | Rinse the chicken once after brining before drying and coating it |
| The ground spice tastes bitter | The seeds toasted past golden | Toast only until the coriander turns faintly golden and tip the seeds out of the pan straight away |
| The thigh is under temperature at 50 minutes | A larger bird or a cool oven | Keep roasting and check every few minutes until it reads 165°F (74°C) |
Serving, Variations and Leftovers
Carve the chicken and set it out with the pilaf. Raita cools the pepper and chili, and naan or roti is good for tearing and wrapping pieces of meat. Sliced raw onion and lemon wedges round out the table, so everyone can add more sourness to their own plate.
Variations
- Salt only. Season the bird with salt alone, the way much sajji is made in Balochistan. The meat tastes of itself, with no spice crust.
- Green papaya paste. With lamb, cooks spread green papaya paste over the meat before roasting. Green papaya is hard to find outside the region, and this chicken does without it.
- Skinless, under foil. Remove the skin, score the meat, wrap it in foil and roast at 200°C for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, brush with ghee or butter and grill for about 10 minutes. The meat stays moist under the foil, and the grill gives back some color. As with the whole bird, the thickest part of the thigh must reach 165°F (74°C).
Leftovers
Let leftover chicken and pilaf cool, then refrigerate them and eat them soon. Reheat until hot all the way to the center.
Frequently asked questions
Can I brine for less than 12 hours?
Plan for 12 hours or overnight. Start the brine the evening before, and the bird is ready to rinse and coat the next day. The rest of the recipe is timed around that full brine.
Can I stuff the rice inside, as in the traditional version?
You can, but it changes the roast. The center of the stuffing must also reach 165°F (74°C), along with the deepest part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. Let the bird stand for 20 minutes before taking the stuffing out. Cooking the rice separately is safer and cooks more evenly, which is why it goes in its own pot here.
How spicy is it?
It has a clear pepper warmth from the tablespoon of black pepper and a fresh green heat from the chilies in the paste. The chilies are the part to adjust. Use fewer of them for a milder bird, and keep the black pepper as it is, since it gives the crust its character.
