Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori chicken made with a homemade marinade

• CuisineIndian
• CategoryChicken
• CourseStarters

Ingredients

• 2 kgsChicken pieces with bone
• 40Kashmiri chillies
• 4 tbspGinger, minced
• 4 tbspGarlic, minced
• 4 tbspYoghurt
• 2 tbspLime juice
• 2 tbspMalt vinegar
• 1 tspPepper powder
• 2 tbspOil
• 1 tbspGaram masala
• 1 tbspMeat tenderizer
•  Salt

Preparation

1. Soak kashmiri chillies in hot water for half an hour
2. Grind coarsely and mix with all other ingredients
3. Make deep cuts on chicken pieces and marinate for an hour or overnight
4. Roast in a tandoor or an oven at 200°C for 30 minutes

I have a tandoor and often make tandoori chicken. I usually use a tandoori paste out of a jar. But, recently, the brand of tandoori paste I normally use was no longer available. The chap at the store said, ominously in my opinion, that the paste was being withdrawn due to difficulty in adhering to health guidelines. Apparently, once it was compliant, it did not look as red as before. Now the taste was what I was after - the lurid red was a bit off putting. You make it with your bare hands and your fingers stayed stained for a few days afterwards. Definitely cause for concern. I tried another brand but it was not the same.

So it was the right time to roll my own. I remember making a schezwan sauce as a condiment and it had roughly the right colour and heat. The recipe kind of took off from there. The key is not to dilute it with too much yoghurt. Kashmiri chillies may have a nice red colour but they do not have the heat and whatever heat is there is a bit sharper. So, you can fortify it with regular dried or fresh chillies and/or add extra lemon juice to counterbalance the sharp taste.

One of the problems of using a tandoor in inexpert hands such as my own is that the meat is burnt from the outside and still raw on the inside. So this time I took a few sensible precautions. I made deep cuts in the chicken and made sure the marinade was pushed into the cuts. I pre-heated the tandoor as usual at high heat. The chicken was generously sprayed with oil. Then the heat was turned down a little and the chicken was put in on skewers. It went into the tandoor for 20 minutes of gentle heat. For another five minutes, the heat was turned up again to quickly brown the outside. I used a meat thermometer to check if it was done - I looked for 75°C or 80°C to be on the safe side. Then let it just hang and rest for another 5 minutes.

If you are using a probe thermometer like I did, it may not be feasible to keep it in while the meat is the tandoor. It is way too hot for the wire. Once you think it is done, pull it out and push the probe into the thickest part of the meat but avoiding the bone or the metal skewer. It takes a minute or so for the temperature to stabilise. Slip the meat off and squeeze on some lemon juice and sprinkle some chaat masala for the finishing touch.