Tandoori chicken is a dish originating in India and served at Indian eateries throughout the world. It was invented in 1947, so it’s not as old as some of the other Indian dishes, but it is extremely popular with people everywhere.
Cooking with chicken – Tandoori-style
The ingredients that make Tandoori chicken a delicious main-course food are the chicken itself, which should be fresh and high quality, Greek yogurt, which is used to marinate the meat, and a variety of spices that are added to the marinade.
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Since it’s quick to cook and is made on the grill, this dish is perfect for when having guests or to enjoy when you need to prepare something in a hurry. However, the recipe does require marinating the meat for about six hours. You can make the marinade ahead of time and refrigerate it until cooking time.
Also, the dish offers an alternative to grilling. You can opt to cook in the oven if you don’t have a grill.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds skinless chicken bone-in thighs and legs
- 1 ¼ cups Greek yogurt or plain natural yogurt
- juice of one lemon
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp cilantro; finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh finger root; grated
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges.
- 3 tsp vegetable oil
How to make: If the chicken comes with the skin on, remove the skin, but you don’t have to throw it away. You can marinade the skins and cook them along with the thighs to enjoy bacon-like crispiness.
Put the chicken in a shallow dish and sprinkle salt and lemon juice on both sides of the thighs. Then set aside to prepare the marinade, which is done either heating the spices in oil before whisking them into the yogurt, or combining them as is.
If you opt to heat the spices: pour the oil into a small pan and heat over medium heat. Then add the spices and the onions, and cook slowly for about 3 minutes, stirring often.
After the spices have cooled completely, add them to the yogurt along with the lemon juice, the minced garlic, and the ginger.
If you choose to combine the ingredients without heating the spices, simply whisk them into the yogurt in a medium-sized bowl.
Coat the yogurt mixture over the chicken, cover, and then refrigerate and let sit for up to 8 hours preferably. If you’re in a real hurry, you can marinate for only an hour, but the longer, the better always.
If cooking on a grill, then preheat to medium-high and lightly oil the grill grates using a brush or a paper towel soaked in oil, but preferably a brush for safety reasons.
When placed on the grill the chicken should be coated with marinade, but any excess marinade removed. Lemon wedges and cilantro are used to garnish the dish.
If using the oven, preheat to 230 degrees C and cook for up to 30 minutes or until chicken is brown on all sides.
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Tandoori chicken can be served with aromatic basmati rice or naan.