Tandoori Chicken

An easy and simple recipe made with accessible ingredients. The chicken is infused with spices and yoghurt and baked until golden with some charred bits. This tandoori is tender, moist, juicy and so YUM.

The yoghurt makes the chicken tender and moist.

I made this in my pizza oven this time but have made it many times before in my regular oven. But broiling it is necessary to get the desired charred results.

This is quite a healthy dish and keto friendly for those on a keto diet.

The traditional tandoori has a deep red colour that can be achieved by adding Kashmiri Chilli (found in an Indian store) or adding a bit of food colour. I am not a fan of adding food colour so usuallu do not. You can just use paprika or regular cayenne pepper, the taste is the same, it’s just that the chicken will not be a deep red in colour. This time I used regular cayenne pepper instead of Kashmiri chilli.

Tandoori chicken is best eaten with naan or rice or some vegetable skewers and a mint yogurt.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs with bone – 2 kgs

Ginger paste – 1 tablespoon

Garlic paste – 1 ¼ tablespoon

Cumin powder – 2 teaspoons

Cayenne pepper – 2 teaspoons or adjusted according to spice preference.

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Garam masala – 2 teaspoons

Lemon Juice – 1 tablespoon

Yoghurt – 4 -5 heaped tablespoons

Salt

Oil spray

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl.
2. Add the chicken in and coat the chicken well with the marinate
3. Allow to marinate for a minimum of 3-4 hrs but preferably overnight.
4. Once ready to cook, if making it in a regular oven, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and arrange the chicken in a single layer in a baking tray, spray a little oil and bake for 20 mins. Turn the chicken over and bake for another 20 mins. This will get the chicken thoroughly cooked but will not have that desired results as grilling does. I suggest broiling the chicken for a few minutes until slightly charred to get the desired results.
5. If making it in the pizza oven, place the chicken in a cast iron pan coated with some oil
6. When the pizza oven as at a temperature of approximately 250 degrees Celsius, pop the pan in. Make sure to turn the chicken over once so it gets equally cooked and slightly charred on both sides.
7. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!!!