Destination
Kampala
The story
TV chicken is Kampala's most theatrical takeaway food and one of the country's most-copied evening street setups. The name comes from the vertical rotisseries used in specialist chicken shops, which look like television screens behind the shop window with rows of chickens rotating slowly on skewers, dripping juices onto a tray below. Chickens are marinated in a paste of garlic, ginger, onion, curry powder and lime, threaded onto vertical rotisserie skewers, and rotated slowly over a gas or charcoal fire for 90 minutes until the skin is deep golden and crackly and the meat is completely tender. Chopped through the bone Cantonese-style, served in a paper cone or on a plate with chapati, kachumbari, sliced avocado and a small dish of Ugandan chili sauce. Sold from about 4pm to midnight at every Kampala TV chicken shop, especially around Wandegeya, Kabalagala and Bugolobi neighbourhoods.
Method
Blend all marinade ingredients to a smooth paste.
Rub the marinade all over the chicken, working it under the skin where possible. Marinate 8 to 24 hours in the fridge.
Set oven to 200C. If using a rotisserie, set up for slow rotation over medium heat.
For oven method: place the spatchcocked chicken on a rack over a roasting tin. Roast at 200C for 45 minutes. Reduce to 180C and continue 15 to 20 minutes more. Baste every 15 minutes with the butter-marinade mixture. For rotisserie: rotate slowly for 90 minutes total, basting every 20 minutes.
Chicken is done when internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh reads 75C. Skin should be deep golden and crackly.
Rest the chicken 10 minutes on a wooden board.
Using a heavy cleaver, chop the chicken through the bone into 3cm pieces. Cantonese-style chop.
Arrange chopped chicken on a platter or in paper cones. Serve with chapati, kachumbari, avocado, chili sauce, lime wedges and cold beer. Eat with hands.
Tips
- Overnight marinade. The Ugandan flavours need time to penetrate. Eight hours is minimum; 24 hours is markedly better.
- Baste often. This is what gives TV chicken its glossy deeply-golden skin. Every 15 to 20 minutes.
- Chop through the bone. The Kampala tradition is Cantonese-style chopping. Use a heavy cleaver on a wooden board.
- Serve with chapati, not rice. This is the classical Ugandan pairing.
- Kachumbari is essential. The fresh lime-tomato salsa cuts the richness of the roast chicken.
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