Tandoori chicken

I think Tandoori dishes are the most popular of Indian Dishes. The word “Tandoor” actually means a clay/brick oven. So any dish cooked in the Tandoor would be a Tandoori dish like the Tandoori Chicken, Tandoori Naan etc.Although this dish was not cooked in a Tandoor, over the years the marinade that is applied to this type of chicken came to be known as Tandoori Style Chicken.

Preparation time:1 hour,marinade ahead of time.

1 cup firm yogurt

10 chicken legs(make slits and poke with fork all over)

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/4 teaspoon chat masala powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon black pepper powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

pinch of red color

pinch turmeric

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kasoori methi (crush with palms into a powder)

salt to taste

1.Combine all the powders in a bowl and add the yogurt, red color, salt, ginger garlic paste and juice of lemon and mix and coat the chicken pieces and let marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

2.If cooking in the oven heat the oven to 400 degrees.

3.Before cooking coat the chicken with the oil.

4.If cooking in the oven ,cook the chicken under the broiler(racked 3rd from top) for about 5 minutes and then and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, check if it is cooked through near the bone, else leave in oven for 5 more minutes.

5.If grilling, start on a high temperature and place the pieces on your BBQ grill. Cook the pieces on each side for 4 minutes and flip to the other side and let cook for 4 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium -low and let cook for around 15 minutes flipping in between.

A good guide to check if the chicken is cooked is to use a food thermometer inserted in the thickest part measures 160F degrees

Do not overcrowd your chicken on the grill.

Grease your grill so that the chicken doesn’t stick.