Tandoori chicken
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Chicken marinated in curd and spices and roasted in a clay tandoor until smoky and charred at the edges.
Region: Delhi and PunjabOccasion: Parties, evening meals and eating outTime: 1 hour + 6 hours marinatingServes: 4Non-vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken, cut into 4 legs and 4 breast pieces, with deep cuts
- First marinade: 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp salt
- Second marinade: ¾ cup hung curd, 1½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp roasted cumin powder, ½ tsp kasuri methi, 2 tbsp mustard oil
- Butter for basting
- Onion rings, lemon wedges and green chutney to serve
Method
- Rub the chicken with the first marinade and leave for 30 minutes.
- Heat the mustard oil until it smokes, cool, and mix with the other second-marinade ingredients. Coat the chicken and marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
- Thread on skewers and cook in a hot tandoor, or roast in an oven at 230 °C for 25–30 minutes, turning once.
- Baste with butter and cook for 5 more minutes until charred at the edges.
- Sprinkle with chaat masala and serve with onion rings, lemon and green chutney.
History
The tandoor was used for breads in Punjab; Punjabi cooks who settled in Delhi after Partition made tandoori chicken a restaurant dish, and Moti Mahal in Daryaganj is often credited with making it popular.
Significance
Tandoori chicken started Delhi's love of tandoori food, from tikkas to butter chicken.