TANDOORI CHICKEN
Yum
Tandoori chicken is a popular chicken starter, traditionally made in a tandoor clay oven, over days the recipe is made in the regular electric oven ,gas oven or grill. The chicken is marinated for atleast 4 hours with a blend of spices and yogurt and then grilled in the oven to perfection. This is one of my favorite recipe, the chicken is flavorful and juicy with perfect blend of spices. I tried so many variations , so this is my favorite of all. I made them and they were a huge hit in my family.
skinless chicken leg quarters - 3 pounds/1.5 kgs
yogurt/curd - 2 tablespoon
red chili powder - 2 teaspoons
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
lemon -1
mint - handful (crushed)
green chilis - 3 (crushed)
oil/butter/ghee - 3 tablespoon
In a bowl, add the yogurt, the yogurt should be thick not runny, if it is runny then strain the water and use it. I recommend using Kashmiri red chili powder as it gives nice red color to the chicken, if not use regular chili powder. If you are using Kashmiri chili powder use 3 teaspoons as they are not that hot. I dont normally add red food color, if you prefer you can add to the marinate, to get that restaurant style tandoori chicken.
To the yogurt/curd add the red chili powder and turmeric, as it is an antibacterial has tons of health benefits so to all indian cooking especially to non vegetarian cooking turmeric is a must.
To this add the garam masala, ginger garlic paste mix well and keep it aside
Next in preparing the chicken for tandoori, skinless leg quarters are made slits in between which helps the marinate to penetrate to the chicken and also gives grilled marks to the chicken.
Add salt and squeeze half a lemon to the chicken, you could also add this to the marinate, but rubbing directly to the chicken makes a difference as it enhances the flavor much better and the chicken absorbs the flavor very well. Once that is done, gently coat the chicken with the marinate. Take about 3 green chilis and a handful of mint crush them in a motor and pistol, rub them to the marinated chicken, this gives the nice freshness and flavor.
Let the marinated chicken sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight would be great.
Use a grilling pan covered with aluminium foil or place a grill on top of a pan so the dripping can be collected to the pan. Here I have used a roasting pan with its grill.
Before grilling squeeze the remaining half lemon on top and gently apply oil or melted butter or ghee for more flavor. Preheat the oven to broil mode on high, once preheated pop into the oven and broil for 20 mins, keep an eye on the chicken as every oven is different. After 20 mins remove the chicken, flip the other side and coat with butter/oil, again pop into the oven for anther 10 to 12 mins until you see that grilled effect on the chicken. Once the chicken is completely cooked , brush with some ghee/butter, this is important as this will keep the tandoori chicken moist and juicy. Skipping this may tend to make the chicken little dry.
For more authentic flavor, as we are not using the traditional tandoori oven here. We can cheat this by placing some hot coal in a pot along with the cooked chicken, pour some ghee onto the coal, it form fumes. Close the lid and let it sit for 10 mins to absorb the smoke flavor. Now remove and ready to serve.
Tandoori chicken is so juicy and flavorful in every bite, you could serve this with green chutney and naan or rice. As always happy cooking!!
Please let me know in the comments below if you have enjoyed my recipe.
skinless chicken leg quarters - 3 pounds/1.5 kgs
yogurt/curd - 2 tablespoon
red chili powder - 2 teaspoons
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
lemon -1
mint - handful (crushed)
green chilis - 3 (crushed)
oil/butter/ghee - 3 tablespoon
In a bowl, add the yogurt, the yogurt should be thick not runny, if it is runny then strain the water and use it. I recommend using Kashmiri red chili powder as it gives nice red color to the chicken, if not use regular chili powder. If you are using Kashmiri chili powder use 3 teaspoons as they are not that hot. I dont normally add red food color, if you prefer you can add to the marinate, to get that restaurant style tandoori chicken.
To the yogurt/curd add the red chili powder and turmeric, as it is an antibacterial has tons of health benefits so to all indian cooking especially to non vegetarian cooking turmeric is a must.
To this add the garam masala, ginger garlic paste mix well and keep it aside
Next in preparing the chicken for tandoori, skinless leg quarters are made slits in between which helps the marinate to penetrate to the chicken and also gives grilled marks to the chicken.
Add salt and squeeze half a lemon to the chicken, you could also add this to the marinate, but rubbing directly to the chicken makes a difference as it enhances the flavor much better and the chicken absorbs the flavor very well. Once that is done, gently coat the chicken with the marinate. Take about 3 green chilis and a handful of mint crush them in a motor and pistol, rub them to the marinated chicken, this gives the nice freshness and flavor.
Let the marinated chicken sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight would be great.
Use a grilling pan covered with aluminium foil or place a grill on top of a pan so the dripping can be collected to the pan. Here I have used a roasting pan with its grill.
Before grilling squeeze the remaining half lemon on top and gently apply oil or melted butter or ghee for more flavor. Preheat the oven to broil mode on high, once preheated pop into the oven and broil for 20 mins, keep an eye on the chicken as every oven is different. After 20 mins remove the chicken, flip the other side and coat with butter/oil, again pop into the oven for anther 10 to 12 mins until you see that grilled effect on the chicken. Once the chicken is completely cooked , brush with some ghee/butter, this is important as this will keep the tandoori chicken moist and juicy. Skipping this may tend to make the chicken little dry.
For more authentic flavor, as we are not using the traditional tandoori oven here. We can cheat this by placing some hot coal in a pot along with the cooked chicken, pour some ghee onto the coal, it form fumes. Close the lid and let it sit for 10 mins to absorb the smoke flavor. Now remove and ready to serve.
Tandoori chicken is so juicy and flavorful in every bite, you could serve this with green chutney and naan or rice. As always happy cooking!!
Please let me know in the comments below if you have enjoyed my recipe.
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I tried this today and it was so good.
ReplyDeletethank you!
DeleteThis tandoori chicken recipe looks really amazing. I really love this tandoori chicken recipe. Thanks for sharing this tandoori chicken recipe with all of us.
ReplyDeleteA delicious and easy to make tandoori chicken recipe i have ever tried so far. Even my whole family love this tandoori chicken recipe as well. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us.
ReplyDeleteI’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the roadIndo Chinese
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