Tandoori Chicken gets its name from the bell-shaped tandoor clay oven that serves as the traditional way of cooking Tandoori Chicken. You don’t need one to make this delicious recipe—it can all be done in the oven. The chicken is roasted to tender perfection, with a gorgeous marinade that is rich, tangy, and seasoned beautifully. Tandoori Chicken is wonderful served with basmati rice and offers up a fantastic meal to shake up your routine.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 12 chicken thighs, skin-off and bone-in
- 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon salt
- red food coloring, optional, to taste
For the marinade:
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons garlic puree
- 1 tablespoon ginger puree
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 bunch coriander leaves, finely chopped
Directions
Step 1 –Make three slits on each chicken thigh using a sharp knife.
Step 2 –Juice the lemons over the chicken thighs.
Step 3 –Sprinkle the chicken with the 1 tablespoon of the salt.
Step 4 –Add a few drops of the food coloring over the chicken. Set the chicken aside while you make the marinade.
Step 5 –Using a food processor, blend the yogurt, garlic puree, ginger puree, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground black pepper, the 1 teaspoon of the salt, the chiles, and the coriander leaves to a fine paste.
Step 6 –Coat the chicken pieces thoroughly in the marinade.
Step 7 –Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 6 hours and up to 48 hours. The longer the better.
Step 8 –Preheat the oven to 470 degrees F or to the highest heat setting possible.
Step 9 –Place the chicken on a rack and roast, turning the chicken halfway through, until the edges are slightly blackened, the juices run clear when pricked, and the chicken reads 165 degrees F when tested with a thermometer, about 25-40 minutes.
Step 10 –Serve warm.
