Tandoori Style Chicken

Continuing in the vein of quick and easy suppers you can rustle up using storecupboard ingredients, tonight’s recipe is for Tandoori Style Chicken.

Being Indian, I quickly learnt that Tandoori “homestyle” chicken is somewhat different to the glaringly red and quite often overspiced versions many a UK Indian restaurant serve.  In restaurants the colour comes from nasty food colouring, so my version below (an old family recipe) is a far simpler and healthier version, but don’t let me stop you adding in food colouring if you want to!

Tandoori Chicken is chicken cooked in yoghurt and spices. The word “Tandoori” derives from “Tandoor” which is a bell-shaped ovens set into the earth and fired with wood or charcoal.  There are modern day variants of clay ovens which you might have seen in Indian or Middle Eastern restaurants in which they bake bread or cook kebabs.  However unless you have one of these at home, feel free to use your oven, grill or BBQ .

The nicest thing about this dish is how versatile it is. You can serve it as the centrepiece of an indian meal or just as easily serve up with salads and breads.

 

Tandoori Style Chicken (Serves 4)

What you need

• 1.25kg chicken pieces –preferably bone in – I like doing this with skin on, but you can do skinless too
• 2 tsp salt
• 1-2 lemons, halved (or lemon juice)
• 425ml plain yoghurt
• ½ onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, chopped
• 1-2 hot green chillies, roughly sliced (adjust spice to your taste)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala

What to do

• Make the yoghurt marinade by combining a tablespoon or so of the yoghurt, the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and spices in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the remaining yoghurt to the yoghurt and spice mixture and combine well. Add lemon juice and salt.
• Make some slits in the chicken pieces.
• Rub the marinade into the slits in the meat, then cover with cling film and refrigerate. Like most marinades, the longer you can marinade it, the tastier it will be but it works well as a last minute dish too.
•  To cook, you can either bake in the oven at 200C or put under the grill or on BBQ. If you are cooking in the oven, cook for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. The breasts cook more quickly than the legs, so remove these earlier, when they’re cooked through.
• Serve hot, with a squeeze of lemon juice.

You can use any cuts of chicken, but I find chicken on the bone best (thighs/ legs). You can also add in some paprika, if you would like the “reddish” tinge. You can also use the marinade with lamb, but marinade it for longer!

Accompaniments: If serving Indian style, it’s best eaten with a dal,  raita and some chapattis (Indian flatbread) or naan.  I normally use shop bought naan but if you are feeling adventurous, see a quick chapatti recipe below….but the first time I made these, I got flour everywhere! If you have any leftovers, they make a delicious chicken salad.

To drink: Any dry white wine will probably go best with this dish or you could just go with a beer (Indian ofcourse!)

Indian Style Chapattis (makes approx 8)

• 450g  wholemeal plain flour
• 250ml  cold water
• butter for spreading, optional

What to do

• Set aside 200g of the flour.
• Place the remaining flour in a deep bowl. Fill another bowl with the cold water.
• Add the water to the bowl of flour, a little at a time, kneading as you go, until you have a soft  dough.
• Sprinkle a little of the reserved flour onto a flat surface or board (watch this, it can get messy!!)
• Divide the dough into eight and shape each piece into a ball.
• Flatten the balls slightly, then place one onto the floured board.
• Roll it out into a flat disc (approximately 6 inches), flouring the board when necessary using the flour you put aside earlier.
• Heat a shallow frying pan.  Lay the chapatti on the pan and cook for about 20-30 seconds or until the surface is bubbling.
• Turn it over with tongs and cook the other side for 10-15 seconds. As soon as brown spots appear on      the underside, the chapatti is done.
• Repeat with the other 7 dough balls, using the remaining flour to roll them out. Place them in a tea towel to keep warm as they cook, placing a sheet of kitchen towel between each one to absorb  any moisture.
• Spread butter over one side, if you like. Serve hot.