I am always ready to gobble anything grilled, and Chicken Tandoori has always seemed very appealing. Probably because as against in Punjab, the rest of the India doesn’t have a Tandoor (punjabi clay oven) in every household. So it meant access to this delicacy was limited to a dinner at a restaurant or party at a club.
My fascination with grilled food has made me buy many things. As a kid I begged my parents to allow me to buy a coal sigree (Indian coal stove) and some coal from a nearby coal vendor or taal as it was called in my hometown. My last attempt was to get a local vendor build a portable Grill – this was a time when Grills weren’t sold at malls or cookware shops. Unfortunately, it won’t be wise to get the grill going at my current residence, which has a very limited open space.
But my urge to make grilled or Tandoori Chicken was much stronger than the limitation and I set out to get the grilling effect in the kitchen.
Chicken Tandoori Recipe Ingrdients
1 kg whole chicken or chicken drumsticks
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Kashmiri Chili powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder
1/2 tsp Amchur powder (Dry Mango)
1/4 tsp Chat Masala
1/2 tsp Corriander powder
Salt to taste
Chicken Tandoori Recipe Method
1. Clean the chicken and make half inch deep slits in the chicken
2. Add the Ginger-Garlic paste and rub it in
3. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and rub the spice mix over the chicken
4. Add the oil and toss the chicken
5. Set aside to marinate for at least two hours
6. Heat a grill pan or regular pan on high heat
7. Sear the chicken from all sides on high heat to get a slightly burnt surface
8. Pre-heat the oven at 180
9. In a thick aluminum foil, place the seared chicken and pour the remaining marinade
10. Fold the aluminum foil from all sides and place the chicken on the grill rack for 40 min at 180 degrees.
Tandoori Chicken – Print Friendly Version
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Serving Suggestions
The most common way to eat Tandoori Chicken as an appetizer. But because I like it so much, I eat it also as a main course. You can eat the chicken with Tandoori Roti or on a layer of buttered rice and give it Chello kabab twist.
You know what else goes well? A nice Bollywood flick. To enhance your Punjabi experience I have just the movie. Now running for 15 years – yes, 15 years is DDLJ or Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge!