Tandoori Chicken
See how to make tandoori chicken in the oven video on YouTube
See Blog: The Indian Tandoor, A Clay Oven
Tandoori Chicken Recipe
(Recipe from New Indian Home Cooking)
An elegant dish from the state of Punjab, tantoori chicken (murgh) is one of the most-popular chicken dishes. It is made in a tandoor (clay oven) and hence the name. But it can also be baked in an oven or grilled on a barbecue. I make it in the oven all the time. It is a low fat dish, as the skin is removed prior to marinating the chicken. To learn more about tandoor and tandoori dishes, see blog The Indian Tandoor, A Clay Oven.
3 pounds chicken pieces (or 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken)
1 small onion (about 1 cup pieces)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
6 ea. lemon wedges
Preferably use chicken pieces of choice and skin the chicken, leave the bone-in. Or you can use skinless, boneless chicken.
- Remove the skin and all visible fat from the chicken pieces. (I often have the butcher skin the chicken.) Cut 2–3 slits, 1-inch long and 1/2 inch deep, in each piece of chicken. Place in a casserole dish and set aside.
- Cut onion into 4–6 pieces. In a blender jar put onion, tomato sauce, yogurt, ginger, garlic cloves, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, cumin seeds, salt, garam masala and red food coloring. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Pour the tandoori paste on the chicken and turn pieces to thoroughly coat with spices. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator 4–24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove chicken pieces from the marinade, saving marinade. Arrange pieces in a broiler pan. Bake uncovered in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over and brush with remaining marinade. Bake for 10–15 minutes until chicken is tender.
- Turn oven to broil. Turn pieces over once again and broil for 5 minutes to get a nice red color and .
- Transfer to a serving platter. Serve with lemon wedges or squeeze lemon over the chicken before eating.
Makes 6 servings Serving size: 4 oz each
Amount per serving: Calories: 182; Protein 24g; Fat: 8g (Sat Fat: 2g); Carbohydrate: 5g; Dietary Fiber: 1g; Sodium: 550 mg
(Recipe from New Indian Home Cooking by Madhu Gadia, M.S., R.D.; HP Books, 2000)