Tandoori Chicken

For the past year, I’ve been talking about creating a recipe for tandoori chicken. Our family makes it often, but always using a pre-mixed spice blend. While it’s always delicious, the recipe wasn’t quite ready for this blog, as I don’t believe in using ready-made mixes in these recipes. Also, I really wanted to see if I could replicate the spice mix on my own. Challenge accepted.

Based off the ingredients on the box, my mom and I created a spice blend that approximated the pre-made mix quite closely. We decided to grind the spices since we didn’t have anything better to do because they’re much more fragrant and potent than pre-ground. But obviously, ground spices work equally fine (I’ve given the ingredient amounts for ground spices here).

The end result was pretty perfect, if I do say so myself. Tangy and spicy, charred in all the right places — it was everything I want out of my tandoori chicken. And the best part is, I no longer have to rely on a box mix for my food. Well no, the real best part is: challenge defeated.

Note: I apologize for the incoherence/brevity of this post, but I’m running on 3 hours of sleep and the after effects of a very long Saturday night. And of course, I’m simultaneously watching my new favorite show.

Tandoori Chicken

– 1 whole chicken, cut into small pieces (approx. 2 pounds)

– 1-1/2 cups lemon juice

– 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

– 1 tablespoon ground cumin

– 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

– 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

– 1 tablespoon cayenne powder

– 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

– 1/2 teaspoon sugar

– 2 teaspoons salt

– 3 garlic cloves

– 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

– 1/2 large tomato (or 1 Roma), cut into quarters

– 2 tablespoons water

– 3/4 cup thick yogurt (we used Indian-style dahi, but Greek yogurt is an easy substitute)

– 1/4 teaspoon powdered yellow food coloring*

– 1/4 teaspoon powdered red food coloring*

– 2 tablespoons canola oil

*You can find powdered food coloring at Amazon or at baking supply stores.

1) Place the chicken in a colander and rinse under lukewarm running water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl with the lemon juice. Toss to coat thoroughly and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, combine the cinnamon, cumin, cloves, black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, sugar and salt. Blend the garlic, ginger, tomato and water until it forms a paste. Stir in the paste, yellow and red food coloring, yogurt and oil. (This is your marinade.)

3) Rinse the lemon juice off of the chicken and drain completely (so that the chicken is dry). Add the chicken to the marinade and coat completely. Let it sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours, or refrigerate, covered, overnight.

4) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place a wire rack over it. Lightly oil the racks. Place the chicken pieces on the racks about 1-inch apart. Bake for 40 minutes, turning the pieces over halfway.

5) Broil on high for 3 minutes, then turn and broil for an additional 3 minutes. Serve with raita and naan or rice.

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