Tandoori Chicken – The Busy (Lazy?) American Version
Tandoori chicken gets is name from the clay oven it is traditionally cooked in, the Tandoor. The chicken is marinated in yogurt and an incredibly complex mix of spices, and then roasted in the extremely hot tandoor oven. The results are one of the world’s great culinary experiences. “Real” Indian Chefs spend hour’s carefully preparing their spices for this dish. Most make there own version of a “Garam Masala,” which translates to “hot spice.” There are literally thousands of variations, but the most common ingredients are; cumin, coriander, green cardamom seed and/or black cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, mace, dried hot chili peppers, sesame, mustard seeds, bay leaves, and turmeric.
To do this properly the Chefs buy the whole seeds and pods of the various spices, they carefully toast and/or roast them, and then grind them right before they are to be used. Some even grind them by hand using a mortar and pestle. Of course, we busy American cooks unfortunately don’t have time for all that (or so we claim), and can buy an already mixed Tandoori spice package. Look for the words “Tandoori Spice” and/or “Garam Masala,” or as my package was labeled “Tandoori Masala.” These spice mixes are available at the major supermarkets (or specialty food stores, if you’re lucky enough to live near a large city), but can really vary in quality. Please make sure you check the label carefully, and that it contains most, if not all, of the spices listed above. Some of the cheaper, lower-quality versions are nothing more than hot pepper and turmeric.
Also, don’t feel bad if you don’t have a Tandoor clay oven sitting in the back yard. The good old Weber charcoal grill will work just fine as you’ll see in today’s video recipe clip. By the way, this can be done using whole, cut-up chicken on the bone, but for speed and lower-fat content, I chose to use boneless, skinless thighs. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tbl plain yogurt
1 1/2 tbl tandoori spice mix
1/2 lime, juiced
extra salt and hot pepper to taste
27 comments:
Gosh this looks soooooo good! Will give it a try as soon as I get the spice mix.
OMG that looks good!
What happened to the polled videos!? Looks good,I like that plate. :) You should check out this lady's blog, thefoodpornographer.com
How dare you call us American's lazy! I mean it's true, but how dare you! ;-)
Hey I've done 2 of them! Thats 50%.... I will do the others eventually.
That looks tasty!
hey chef john..join the next food network star, pleaseee! you'll do great =D
The looks alone is really yummy...
hi chef,
boy that really looks great can't to try it, by the way i love to grill its my first love and my second is cooking in the kitchen, so please more grilling videos, thanks,
minniemouse59
Chef, have you thought about putting your posts on tastespotting.com ? If you haven't seen the site, it acts as a sort of food blog aggregator.
What is the reason behind choosing boneless chicken thighs as opposed to boneless chicken breasts?
they have more fat and can take longer cooking times which works better for this recipe. You can use breasts, but just be careful not to dry them out.
Woo hoo.... been looking for a tandoori chicken recipe. Looking forward to trying it.
Also looking forward to the sides you served with this. That was a beautiful plate.
(Sometimes I think I have a harder time with sides than main courses.)
I would love to see the recipes for the side dishes on the plate with that chicken.
Looks delicious!
Great recipe Chef John!
Love the video recipe. Nice cheater method!
I made your recipe last night - it was awesome! I had to tweak it a little - someone "stole" my limes...so I used lemon. I also don't have a grill, so I broiled it in my oven. I followed all your steps, including the one about spraying the wire rack, and it made such an amazing difference!!! I've never had such excellent oven-grilled chicken! Oh, and the spices were divine! I can't wait to try more of your recipes. I'll be blogging about this one soon!
thanks, blog away!
I did this a few nights ago and loved it. So easy yet exotic.
Hi!
I was thinking of trying this with skinless chicken breasts (with the bones in). Any tips or suggestions for making it this way?
Thanks
it will work...just dont overcook. ;)
chef johns thanks for posting great recipts.
i admire not only your demonstration of marvelous cooking and your all the calm and gentle explnations for virtual viewers, including me.
i have a question. although living in apartment, i occasionaly dare to use weber grill like yours in empty balcony.
but once used hardwood charcoals, flame was too strong, but in your clip,there's not so much flames. is it brisquet charcoal?
yes, thats what i use.
chef john! even though you used brisket for grilling this tandoori chicken, how can i see no flare-ups during your demonstration?
is there some secret for controlling all the flames or did you just edit this clip so that i cannot see any of those?
I believe the major flare ups come from the fat from the skin. since this are skinless, I really didn't have a problem with that. Also, you can use the lid to keep down the flames.
i luv this dish! Any indian party will have it, even served with fresh lime and cut onions.The onions make a difference though! anyways, its prounounced thundoori chicken not tundoori.... its kinda like the whole Xiaxe thingy
Thunk You!
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