TANDOORI CHICKEN RECIPE

TANDOORI CHICKEN RECIPE

Tandoori Chicken Recipe is a delicious and easy way to recreate the tandoori flavor you love in restaurants, so to achieve that smoky charred look, bake, broil, or air-fry the chicken. Included are traditional charcoal-smoking directions!

Yield: leg quarters Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 5 (1130g) skinless chicken leg quarters (2.5 lb).

Tandoori Marinade:

• Greek yogurt, plain and whole milk: 1/3 cup (82g).
• Use 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, such as grapeseed or olive oil.
• Use 2 tbsp of melted butter (unsalted or salted, both work)
• Lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
• 8-10 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon heaped/crushed/finely chopped
• 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 tbsp finely chopped/crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Substitute paprika for 1 tbsp Kashmiri Chili Powder.
• 2 tsp of coriander powder
• Cumin powder 2 tsp
• For less heat, use 1 tsp of red chili powder (or cayenne) or 1 1/2 tsp.
• Tandoori Masala or 1 tsp of store-bought garam masala
• Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• Crush 1 tbsp of dried fenugreek (sukhi methi) between your fingers.
• Salt kosher 2 1/2 tsp
• 1/8 tsp sugar: I use cane sugar
• Optional: Add a pinch of deep orange or red food coloring; note 3.

You can serve:

• Finely chopped cilantro
• Lemon or lime wedges
• Red onion thinly sliced
• Recipe for Mint Raita or Imli (Tamarind Chutney) Chutney.

Equipment

• baking rack
• Baking tray Option

Instructions for tandoori chicken recipe

• Prepare Chicken: Use a sharp, thin knife to cut 4 deep (2-3 inch) slits on the meat side of the chicken pieces, then cut 2-3 more slits in the underside.
• Combine all ingredients under Tandoori marinade in a large bowl that can fit the chicken. You should brush the marinade over the chicken, making sure to get into the cuts and crevices, so i use gloves to do this. Cover and refrigerate for at least six hours or up to 48 (the longer, the better). Take the food out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
• Preheat + prep (see Note 1 on Air-Frying). Preheat the oven to 375degF/190degC. Use aluminum foil or parchment paper to line a large baking pan, then on the baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper, place a rack., then spray baking spray on the rack. If you don’t own a rack, you can lightly grease parchment paper or aluminum, so place the meat-side-up leg quarters on the rack/baking sheet. Save the extra marinade.
• Bake + Broil: Bake the pieces for 30 minutes (165degF/73.9degC), flipping them halfway through. Broil on High (550degF/288degC). If you do not have a broil setting, set the heat to its highest setting. Removing the chicken from the oven, flip it again to the top side that is meaty. Brush/baste any remaining marinade on the chicken pieces. The pieces of chicken should be lightly charred after being placed back in the oven for 4-5 minutes, then it depends on your oven what time you need to cook.  If the oven rack is not charred after 6 minutes (mine usually isn’t), you can move it to the top shelf so that it’s closer to the heat source. Continue to broil for another 1-2 minutes., then remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for five minutes. See Post on Smoking with Charcoal.) Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with Mint Raita (Tamarind Chutney) or Imli Chutney (Tamarind Chutney) and lime/lemon.

Notes

Note 1: I use the leg quarters you can find in Halal stores. They are skinless and smaller. You can usually ask the staff at a Halal store to cut the tikka/tandoori on your chicken. If you can’t find skinless chicken in your regular supermarket, you will have to do it yourself.

• It is best to use bone-in poultry such as drumsticks or thighs with bones, leg quarters cut into pieces, or whole skinless chicken.
• If you are using boneless, skinless chicken, bake it for less time. 20 minutes.

Note 2: Air Frying Instructions

Air-frying is my preferred method of cooking, so you can get it crispy and juicy with little effort. Heat circulation is used to “bake” in the spices, like with Chicken Chargha.

• 380 degrees Fahrenheit should be the temperature when preheating the air fryer.
•  Spray cooking spray on the bottom of the basket.
• Place the pieces of chicken in a single layer so that they don’t touch, so i can fit three at a go in my air fryer.
• Cooking spray should be sprayed liberally over the top of the chicken.
• The chicken pieces should be air-fried at 380degF/193degC for 18-22 mins or until crispy and lightly charred, so there’s no need to flip. Make sure the internal temperature is 165degF. Rest the meat for five minutes before serving.

Note 3: For a restaurant-style chicken, you only need a tiny amount (1/16 teaspoon). Prima’s deep orange is my favorite, but you can use red.

The Nutrition Facts is for each quarter of a leg, assuming five quarters.

Calories 439 kcal. Carbohydrates 6g. Protein 26g. Fat 35g. Saturated fat 10g. Polyunsaturated fat 6g. Monounsaturated fat 15g. Trans Fat 0.3g. Cholesterol 154 mg. Sodium 1354mg. Potassium 451mg. Fiber 2g. Sugar 1g. Vitamin A 1181IU. Vitamin C 5mg. Calcium 56mg. Iron 2mg.