Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1whole chicken, skinned and jointed, or 8 skinless thighs and drumsticks

First marinade

• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tspKashmiri chilli powder
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tbspginger garlic paste

Second marinade

• 300 gthick full-fat yoghurt, hung
• 2 tbspginger garlic paste
• 2 tspKashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tspturmeric
• 2 tspgaram masala
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspkasuri methi, dried fenugreek leaf
• 2 tbspmustard oil
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt

To finish

• melted butter or ghee, for basting
• juice of half a lemon
• chaat masala

To serve

• sliced onion in vinegar
• green chutney
• lemon wedges
• naan

Directions

1. Cut deep. Rub the lemon juice, chilli, salt and ginger garlic paste into the slashes and leave it 30 minutes. This first stage seasons the meat deeply and the acid begins to tenderise it, and it is done before the yoghurt so the yoghurt does not block it.
2. Hang the yoghurt in muslin for a few hours to drain off the whey. Thin yoghurt runs off the chicken and, worse, releases water in the oven so the chicken steams instead of roasting.
3. Mix the hung yoghurt with the ginger garlic paste, all the ground spices, the kasuri methi and the cooled oil. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms as it goes in, which releases far more aroma.
4. Coat the chicken thoroughly, working it into every slash. Now marinate for at least 8 hours, and overnight is better. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
5. Heat the oven as hot as it goes with the grill element on, and set a rack over a tray. The chicken must sit on a rack with air all round it, so the fat and juices drip away.
6. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn and roast another 10. Now finish it under a fierce grill for a few minutes. Baste it with melted butter partway through and again at the end. Basting keeps it from drying out and helps the surface colour.
7. Rest it for 5 minutes before serving. Serve it with raw onion rings soaked in vinegar, green chutney and naan.

Technique

• Kashmiri chilli gives colour without much heat and is what the red should come from.
• Butter chicken was created at Moti Mahal from leftover tandoori chicken.
• A kettle barbecue with the lid down is the closest domestic approach to a tandoor.

Substitutions

• Paprika with a little hot chilli, if Kashmiri chilli is unavailable.
• Greek yoghurt, drained further, in place of hung yoghurt.

Variations

• Made with a whole spatchcocked chicken.
• Tandoori paneer or cauliflower, using the same marinade.
• Cooked over charcoal, which is much closer to the original.

History

Popularised by Moti Mahal, first in Peshawar then Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru liked it enough to serve it at state banquets.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tandoori Chicken?

Tandoori Chicken is a main from India: yogurt-spice marinated chicken charred in the tandoor. Popularised by Moti Mahal, first in Peshawar then Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru liked it enough to serve it at state banquets.

How long does Tandoori Chicken take to make?

Tandoori Chicken takes 30 min plus 8 hr marinating of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Tandoori Chicken?

Yes, within limits. Paprika with a little hot chilli, if Kashmiri chilli is unavailable. Greek yoghurt, drained further, in place of hung yoghurt.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tandoori Chicken?

Hang the yoghurt in muslin for a few hours to drain off the whey. Thin yoghurt runs off the chicken and, worse, releases water in the oven so the chicken steams instead of roasting.