Tandoori chicken is a popular dish all over the world. It's spicy, flavorful, and has a distinctive smoky scent from being cooked in a tandoor. While recreating a tandoor at home is difficult, you can still cook great tandoori chicken at home with a simple yoghurt marinade. The tandoori chicken recipe is all set with easy explanation and process.
Tandoori Chicken is best made with freshly ground spices and a long marination period. I'll also show you how to add smokiness to the chicken to give it that real flavour.
Some Facts to Know About Tandoori Chicken recipe
This dish gets its name from the fact that it is customarily prepared in a Tandoor oven. Tandoor is a clay oven that has been used in India for millennia to cook naan, kulchas, and chicken. Tandoor gives the dish a distinct smokiness. Chicken is marinated in thick yoghurt, spices, lemon juice, and ginger-garlic paste before being grilled in a tandoor until it has lovely charred areas.
Tandoori Chicken is also known for its distinctive brilliant red colour. It's due to the presence of red food colouring. I don't use any food colouring in my recipe since I enjoy the colour that comes from the spices.
Tandoori Chicken Marinade
The marinade consists primarily of yoghurt, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, and a variety of spices. Although most recipes call for double marination, I used single marination in this dish. I tested both options and didn't notice a significant change.
This is a strategy I use to increase the flavour, and it makes a huge impact. Instead of using raw spices, I combine the dried spices with heating oil and let them sit for 5 minutes. When you add heating oil to dry spices, it cooks them and develops their flavour. Add yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, and lemon juice after infusing the oil with spices. Here are a few pointers to help you get the most flavour out of your marinade.
- Use spices that have been freshly ground. Nothing beats the taste of freshly ground spices. I always create a small batch of ground spices in a coffee grinder and keep it in the refrigerator for up to ten days. Using a top-notch Garam Masala.
- I used Kashmiri red chilli powder in this recipe. The red colour of Kashmiri red chilli powder is vivid, although it is just mildly hot. If you don't have Kashmiri red chilli powder on hand, use paprika instead.
- Because of its strong, spicy flavour, I like to use mustard oil. If you're using mustard oil, heat it up until it's scorching hot, then set it aside to cool. Then reheat it and combine it with the dry spices. If you don't have mustard oil, any vegetable or canola oil will suffice.
Process of Marination
- Check to see if the yoghurt is thick. Hang curd or Greek yoghurt can also be used.
- If you want, add 2 teaspoons crumbled Kasurimethi to the marinade.
- You can smoke the chicken with a piece of coal to improve the smoked flavour. Here's how to go about it. Under a direct flame, burn a chunk of coal. Place a small metal bowl inside the marinated chicken dish when it is red hot. Place the hot coal in the small bowl with a kitchen tong and a teaspoon of clarified butter (ghee) or oil. If you see smoke pouring out of the bowl, cover it with a lid to keep the smoke within.
Smoky and juicy Tandoori Chicken gets its flavour from the Yogurt, ginger garlic paste and spice marination. It can be made on the grill, oven or Stovetop.
Tandoori chicken is quite popular across the globe. It is spicy, flavourful, and has a unique smoky aroma that comes from cooking in a tandoor. While it is not easy to recreate a tandoor at home, you can still make delicious tandoori chicken at home with easy yoghurt marination.
Using freshly ground spice and long marination is the key to a delicious Tandoori Chicken. I am also going to share how to incorporate smokiness into the chicken to get that authentic favour.
What is Tandoori
Chicken?
This dish got its name because it is traditionally cooked in a Tandoor. Tandoor is a clay oven that is used to cook naan, kulchas and chicken for centuries in India. Tandoor imparts a distinct smokiness to the dish. So basically, chicken is marinated in thick yoghurt, spices, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste and then cooked in a tandoor until it has nice charred patches.
What Goes into Tandoori Chicken Recipe Marinade?
Basically, the marinade has Yoghurt, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and lots of spices. Most recipes call for double marination, in this recipe I have used single marination. I tried both the variations and didn't find much difference.
To maximize the flavour here is a trick I follow and it really makes a difference. Instead of raw spices, I add warm oil to the dry spices and let them rest for 5 minutes. Adding warm oil to the dry spices sort of cooks the spices and develops flavour. After infusing the oil with spices, add yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste and lemon Juice. Here are a few tips to get the maximum flavour in the marinade.
- Use freshly ground spices. There is nothing like freshly ground spices. I always make a small batch of ground spices using a coffee grinder and keep it up to 10 days. Using a good quality Garam Masala ( preferably homemade).
- I have used Kashmiri red chilli powder. Kashmiri red chilli powder has an intense red colour but it is very mildly spicy. If you don't have Kashmiri red chilli powder, substitute it with paprika.
- I like to use mustard oil because of its pungent spicy flavour. If you are using mustard oil, then first cook it until smoking hot, let it cool down. Then again warm it and add to dry spices. If you don't have mustard oil, you can use any vegetable or canola oil.
- Make sure the yoghurt is thick. You can also use hung curd or Greek yoghurt.
- Add 2 teaspoons of crushed Kasurimethi to the marinade if you prefer.
- To enhance the smoked flavour you can smoke the chicken with a piece of coal. Here is how to do it. Burn a piece of coal under the direct flame. When it is red hot, place a small metal bowl inside the bowl in which chicken is marinated. Using a kitchen tong place the hot coal inside the small bowl, pour a teaspoon of clarified butter(ghee) or oil. You would see smoke coming out, cover the bowl with a lid to trap the smoke inside the bowl.
While I would have loved to have a tandoor to make this amazing Tandoori Chicken Recipe at home, you can't have one. The next option is to grill it or bake it in the oven. Another option is to cook it on the stovetop in a grill pan. So, with a few pointers, here's how to cook tandoori chicken at home.
- The greatest cuts of chicken are thighs and drumsticks. Make 2-3 slits in the meat before marinating to allow the marinade to penetrate.
- This dish benefits from marination for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Remove the marinated chicken from the refrigerator and place it on the kitchen counter to cool.
- When it comes to cooking, I like to cook in the oven or straight on the grill for the greatest results. However, I have been given instructions to cook on the cooktop as well.
- Broil it for 2-3 minutes on the top rack if you desire a charred appearance.
- 1 kilogramme of chicken thighs (or a mix of thigh and leg)
- Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder (three tablespoons) ( For subs refer to note 1)
- 1.5 tsp powdered coriander
- a quarter teaspoon of garam masala
- 12 tsp. turmeric powder
- 12 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- season with salt to taste
- a quarter cup of mustard oil (for subs refer to note 2)
- 14 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp. garlic ginger paste
- a quarter-cup of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons margarine
- Make 2-3 slits with a sharp knife.
- Heat the oil. It should be moderately hot, not scorching. If the oil is excessively heated, the spices will rapidly burn.
- Combine all of the dry spices in a mixing dish, then toss in the hot oil. Allow for 5 minutes for the flavours to meld.
- Combine the yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Everything should be thoroughly combined.
- Add the chicken pieces to the yoghurt mixture, coat well with the marinade, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Remove the marinated chicken from the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C).
- Prepare a foil-lined baking tray. On top of that, place a barbecue rack.
- Shake off any excess marination from the chicken before placing it on the rack.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done.
- Remove it from the oven after 20 minutes and brush it with melted butter. Place it on the top shelf of the oven and broil for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until a charred mark emerges.
- Preheat the grill to 425°F. Grill grates should be clean.
- Cook the chicken for 10-12 minutes on the grill. Brush the chicken with melted butter on the other side. Cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until the thickest section registers 165 degrees in the centre.
To make it on Stovetop
- On the stovetop, heat a grill pan or a cast iron pan. Brush a little coating of oil on the pan.
- Place the chicken (first topside/skin side) on the bottom. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Cook for another 15 minutes after flipping and brushing with melted butter, or until clear juice runs down the edges.
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