Tandoor Chicken Recipes

TANDOORI CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• To a mixing bowl, add greek yogurt or hung curd (thick curd). If you do not have it make your own following the notes below.
• Next add in ginger garlic paste, garam masala, red chili powder, salt, turmeric, kasuri methi, pepper powder and coriander powder.
• Pour oil and lemon juice as well.
• Mix everything well. The marinade has to be thick and not of dripping consistency. Taste it and add more salt and chili powder if needed.
• Make deep gashes over the chicken and add it to the bowl.
• Marinate the chicken well into the gashes.
• Cover and set aside for at least 6 hours. If you reduce the marination time, chicken will not turn soft and juicy. It may not get cooked well if making on tawa.
• Preheat the oven to the highest for atleast 15 to 20 mins. In my oven it is 470 F or 240 C. For the stovetop and air fryer method, please follow the step by step instructions above the recipe card.
• Place a foil on a oven tray to collect the drippings.
• Then keep a greased wired rack on the tray.
• Place the chicken pieces over the wire rack.
• Grill the chicken for about 15 mins.
• For spicy version mix together 1 tsp red chili powder with 1 tbsp oil.
• After 15 mins of grillling, baste the red chili oil over the chicken. You can also baste the left over marinade over the chicken.
• Turn the chicken to the other side and baste the red chili oil or marinade.
• Grill for another 6 to 10 mins or until the chicken is cooked through. You will need to adjust the timing as it depends on size of the chicken pieces.
• The last 5 mins, set to broil mode. Alternately you can move the entire tray with wire rack to the top most rack for the last 5 mins. This gives the charred effect.
• Brush the drippings all over the chicken. This keeps the chicken moist. You can also burn a char coal piece and place it in a small cup. Bring out the chicken tray from the oven and place the cup of char coal in the tray. Cover with a large bowl or foil. Allow it to smoke for 5 to 7 mins.
• Restaurant style tandoori chicken is ready. Serve with this Cilantro Chutney or Pudina Mint Chutney alongside onion and lemon wedges.

INDIAN TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Remove skin from chicken pieces, and cut slits into them lengthwise. Place in a shallow dish. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and lemon juice. Set aside 20 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Mix until smooth. Stir in yellow and red food coloring. Spread yogurt mixture over chicken. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours (the longer the better).
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium high heat, and lightly oil grate.
• Cook chicken on grill until no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut deep slashes into chicken, coat with marinade, chill: Cut deep slashes (to the bone) in 3-4 places on the leg/thigh pieces. Just make 2-3 cuts if you are using separate drumsticks and thighs. Coat the chicken in the marinade, cover and chill for at least an hour (preferably 6 hours), no more than 8 hours.
• Prepare grill: Prepare your grill so that one side is quite hot over direct heat, the other side cooler, not over direct heat. If using charcoal, leave one side of the grill without coals, so you have a hot side and a cooler side. If you are using a gas grill, just turn on one-half of the burners. Use tongs to wipe the grill grates with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil.

CHEF JOHN'S TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk lime juice, yogurt, tandoori powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Pour mixture into a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove chicken from the bag and transfer to a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels. Pat chicken pieces dry with more paper towels.
• Grill chicken on the preheated grill with the lid open for 2 minutes. Close lid and continue to grill chicken for 6 minutes.
• Turn chicken, close lid and grill until well-browned and meat is no longer pink in the center, about 6 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make the marinade, toast the cloves, whole chiles, both types of cardamom seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds in a cast-iron skillet until fragrant, 3 minutes or so, shaking the pan. Then, pour the spices into a spice grinder and grind them until you get a fine powder.
• In large bowl, whisk together the spice mixture you just made with the yogurt, oil, malt vinegar, salt, ground cinnamon, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic and ginger until well combined. It should smell amazing! Taste and adjust with more salt if it needs it.
• Reserve 1/3 cup of the marinade and set aside; you're going to make a sauce out of this reserved marinade.
• Prick the chicken thighs with a fork. Add the thighs to the rest of the marinade, and toss to coat. Marinate at least 1 hour in the fridge, and at most overnight.
• When you're ready to cook, line a baking sheet with foil, and turn your broiler on. Place each chicken thigh on the baking sheet, making sure each one is coated with the marinade, but isn't swimming in it. Cook the chicken thighs under the broiler until starting to blacken, about 5 minutes. Then turn the oven to 350, and cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the meatiest part of the thigh registers 160 degrees F, another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• While the chicken is cooking, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan, along with 1/2 cup water and the honey. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, whisking all the time. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl or gravy boat for serving.
• Serve the chicken thighs on a platter with a fresh squeeze of lime and a drizzle of the sauce.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix the lemon juice with the paprika and red onions in a large shallow dish. Slash each chicken thigh three times, then turn them in the juice and set aside for 10 mins.
• Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Give everything a good mix, then cover and chill for at least 1 hr. This can be done up to a day in advance.
• Heat the grill. Lift the chicken pieces onto a rack over a baking tray. Brush over a little oil and grill for 8 mins on each side or until lightly charred and completely cooked through.

RESTAURANT-STYLE TANDOORI CHICKEN IN THE OVEN!

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt and lemon juice. Add the spices, minced garlic, and chili paste, and whisk until you have a smooth, thick marinade.
• Put 6 pieces of the chicken in each of two zip-lock bags, and add 1/2 the marinade to each bag. Zip closed and knead the bags until the chicken is well-coated with marinade. Open bags slightly, squeeze out most of the air, and zip closed again. Refrigerate 12-24 hours. If serving this for dinner, I usually make the marinade and start the chicken soaking the evening before.
• Turn the bags and knead the marinating chicken once or twice while it's in the refrigerator.
• When you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, line a large roasting pan with foil, lay a rack over the pan so air can circulate under the roasting chicken, and pre-heat your oven to 425. If you have a convection bake or convection roast cycle, use that.
• Place the chicken pieces on the rack so they are not touching. Empty what is left of the marinade into a bowl or measuring cup and touch up any "empty" spots on the chicken pieces with the marinade.
• Once the oven is hot, put the pan with the chicken in the oven, and leave the door closed (no peeking!). Turn the chicken pieces once after 30 minutes of cooking time, then roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly charred on the second side, but no more than 15 minutes for legs and thighs. If you are cooking breasts, poke one with a skewer to make sure the juices run clear.
• NOW TURN THE OVEN OFF, and let the chicken rest in the closed oven for 20-30 minutes more (not critical, but NO PEEKING!).
• Remove the chicken to a warm platter, garnish with the onion rings and a few squeezes of lemon, and enjoy!
• See if you don't agree this is as good as any "authentic" Tandoori chicken you've ever tried!