Originating from India & Pakistan, Tandoori chicken is one of our favourite Indian recipes. So tasty and delicious!! Unfortunately a proper Tandoor oven in our kitchen is nowhere in sight but when we cook these lovely marinated red pieces of chicken in a hot oven, the result is very close. We served them some home-made pilau rice and some raita (yoghurt dip)...so goood!! You can also cook these on a hot BBQ. The secret is long marination as this will also tenderise the meat. Give them a go and we are quite sure your friends and family will love them and also ask for more. To marinade around a kilo of chicken pieces you will need...
- 1 kg chicken drumsticks and thighs, skin removed
For the marinade
- 350ml (1 ½ cups) plain whole milk yoghurt
- 3 tablespoons Tandoori masala (Tandoori spice mix)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed or grated
- 1 thumb sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- Salt & pepper
For the Raita
- 150ml (¾ cup) plain whole milk yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- Salt & pepper
How to...
- Start by mixing all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Mix well until you get a bright red homogenous mixture.
- Slash the chicken pieces with a sharp knife in a couple of places. Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Transfer the whole lot to a ziplock bag or a covered bowl. Leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge, line a large rectangular oven dish with foil, lay a rack over the pan and pre-heat your oven to 220°C.
- Place the chicken pieces on the rack. Pour all the marinade on top of the chicken pieces.
- Once the oven is hot, put the chicken pieces in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, after 30 minutes turn over the chicken pieces and cook for a further 15 minutes until slightly charred on the other side.
- In the meantime prepare the raita by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Take the chicken out of the oven and serve hot accompanied by some raita on the side and also some pilau rice or even Naan bread if you like.
Enjoy!!
R&A
