WHAT IS TANDOORI CHICKEN?
Tandoori chicken, one of the most popular Indian food, needs no introduction. This spicy, smoky, hot, yet delicious, and succulent chicken marinated with the signature tandoori masala paste and cooked in a tandoor (hot clay oven) is what make tandoori chicken so good!
HISTORY OF TANDOORI CHICKEN
Tandoor cooked chicken actually dates back to the Mughal period. This delicacy was the main course of the enormous Indian feasts of that day. Other stories of its origins have arisen, such as the one below: A man named Kundan Lal Gujral ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Peshawar before the partition of India. Trying out new recipes to keep his patrons interested, Gujral tried cooking chicken in tandoors (clay ovens) used by locals until then to cook naans (bread). The tandoors are bell-shaped ovens, set into the earth and fired with wood or charcoal reaching temperatures of about 900 degrees F. Gujral was able to cook the tender chickens in these ovens making them succulent inside and crispy outside. After the partition in 1947, Punjab was partitioned with the Eastern portion joining India and the Western, Pakistan. Peshawar became part of Pakistan and Gujral found himself one among many refugees fleeing the rioting and upheaval by moving to India. He moved his restaurant to Delhi in a place called Daryagunj. The fame of Tandoori Chicken led to many derivatives like Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, commonly found in menus in Indian restaurants all over the world. {Source – Indiamarks}
TANDOORI MARINADE
The tandoori chicken marinade is a mixture of thick yogurt (hung curd), ginger paste, garlic paste, lemon juice, and tandoori chicken seasoning | tandoori masala which is nothing but a mix of cumin, coriander, Kashmiri red chilli powder, and garam masala powder. Traditionally, mustard oil is used in this marinade. It is heated to smoking point, then cooled and added to the marinade. Mustard oil has a pretty strong, and characteristic, pungent taste. You may make use any neutral, flavorless oil instead. These days ready-made tandoori masala spice mix is available everywhere. So you can definitely make tandoori chicken using tandoori masala powder. Simply add the ginger garlic paste, yogurt, oil, and lemon juice. That’s about it for your tandoori masala paste. This tandoori marinade is definitely one of the best Indian chicken marinade recipes for grilling. If you are a vegetarian, use this marinade for gobhi (cauliflower), potatoes, paneer etc You can use the same marinade to make tandoori salmon, tandoori prawns/shrimps, or tandoori lamb. For lamb, you may need to add a tablespoon or two of raw papaya paste or use a meat tenderizer. Add salt accordingly as the meat tenderizer already has salt.
HOW TO MAKE TANDOORI CHICKEN AT HOME?
The secret to a good restaurant-style tandoori chicken lies in the marinade itself. The yogurt tenderizes the chicken making it juicy, and succulent. An overnight marination time yields the best results, so plan ahead, it is totally worth it.
How to marinate tandoori chicken
The marination is done in two steps. Once with some lemon juice, Kashmiri chilli powder, and salt. The second marination is done with some more lemon juice, Kashmiri chilli powder, along with ginger garlic paste, spices and yogurt. Traditionally, skinless chicken thighs are used to make tandoori chicken, and that’s what I’ve used for today’s recipe as well. But you can make tandoori chicken breast or even whole roasted tandoori chicken. Only the baking times will vary. I understand it is not possible to own a conventional tandoor, though electric tandoors are pretty much available commercially now. It boasts of results comparable to the traditional tandoor. As much as I’d love to own one, I’m seriously running out of counter space, so that is not even an idea to consider 🙁 There are a couple of ways you can still make chicken tandoori without a tandoor,
Oven baked chicken tandoori– Today’s recipe is just that! I’ve given all the details below. The oven temperature used here is 400 degrees F, I turned on the broiler for the last few minutes to achieve that charred look. Stovetop tandoori chicken– If you don’t want to turn the oven on or don’t have one, you can still make tandoori chicken over the stove top. Use a regular skillet or a grill pan. Grease the pan with oil and a little butter, cook the chicken for about 90 seconds on one side, flip and cook the other side. Keep flipping and basting with ghee or butter in between a couple of times until the chicken is cooked through. The best alternative would be to make tandoori chicken on a charcoal grill or a gas grill. It would be close to the authentic thing, especially if done over a charcoal grill.
Even if you opt for the stove top method, you can still induce the smoky flavor in the cooked chicken by the ‘dhungar‘ method. Here’s how- Heat a small piece of charcoal directly over the flame until it turns red, transfer the charcoal with tongs into a small steel bowl or aluminum foil. Place the cooked chicken in a deep bowl, and place the bowl with hot charcoal over the chicken, drizzle some ghee or melted butter over the hot charcoal, it will begin to emit smoke. Cover the bowl for around 5-10 minutes, depending on how smoky you like it. This works like a charm for other tandoori dishes like kebabs such as seekh kebab, chicken kalmi kebab, chicken tikka etc or curries like dal makhani, dal tadka!
WHAT MAKES TANDOORI CHICKEN RED?
The restaurants add a red food coloring to the marinade, just as they do for butter chicken curry. I avoid the food color, since the Kashmiri red chilli powder that I use in the marinade adds a nice red color minus the heat.
SAUCE TO GO WITH TANDOORI CHICKEN
Cilantro (coriander) mint yogurt sauce, cucumber raita, or a simple green chutney made with cilantro and spices complement the hot and spicy tandoori chicken really well.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH TANDOORI CHICKEN?
Basically, in India, there are two different ways of serving tandoori chicken. There is tandoori chicken dry, well basically it is not dry, but called so because it is served without the masala aka curry. Then there is tandoori chicken gravy | tandoori chicken curry sauce, in which the tandoori chicken pieces are coated with a spicy sauce, which is a very basic Punjabi onion tomato curry base. I like serving tandoori chicken with some fresh naan, or some turmeric spiced pulao, lots of thinly sliced onions mixed with some lemon juice and chaat masala, served with some more lemon or lime wedges, along with the sauces that I have mentioned above. Makes for a finger-licking delicious meal. Tandoori chicken masala curry would pair well with any flatbread like roti, paratha, tandoori roti, naan, kulcha or with any kind of Indian rice, like cumin rice, pilaf’s etc
If you are looking for an authentic tandoori chicken, look no further! This is the best tandoori chicken recipe I’ve ever tried, and I’m sure you will enjoy it too 🙂
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE INDIAN TANDOORI CHICKEN IN THE OVEN
1.Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs, and thighs. 2.Apply the ingredients listed for the first marinade all over the chicken and set aside for half an hour. 3.Add the ingredients listed for the second marinade in a small bowl. Mix well 4.Add the marinade to the chicken and rub this mixture well all over the chicken, marinate for three to four hours or overnight in the refrigerator. 5.Place a wire rack over a baking tray. Grease the wire rack with oil/oil spray. Or transfer the chicken to a baking tray lined with an aluminum foil, greased with oil. Bake at 400 F for about 45 minutes or until cooked through, basting with oil in between. If you are not using a wire rack, flip the chicken halfway through. 6.Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.
NOTE 1.To get that charred look, I turned on the broiler during the last few minutes.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST TANDOORI CHICKEN?
ENJOYED THIS TANDOORI MURGH | INDIAN TANDOORI CHICKEN? THEN DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THESE POPULAR INDIAN TANDOORI DISHES MADE WITHOUT A TANDOOR AT HOME. Malai chicken tikka Hariyali chicken tikka [adinserter block=”5″] I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at [email protected] You can also follow me on : Facebook @ Aromaticessence Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence Instagram @ aromatic_essence77 Twitter @ freda_dias Regards, Freda Recipe slightly adapted from here.
