Indian Chicken Recipe: Tandoori Chicken in Oven

Who don’t like tandoori chicken and chicken tikkas! These are the most scrumptious Indian delicacies that we eat quite often in the Indian restaurants. So, I thought let’s give it a try at home. My friend has sent me this recipe and said this recipe was just voted best tandoori chicken in San Francisco by a "completely unbiased" review panel. And believe me, when I made this recipe it was finished in just few minutes. Whoa!!

I served this recipe with another Indian delight i.e. mint and yogurt chutney (Dip). To make this recipe, you need ½ of a cup of mint leaves, ¼ cup of cilantro, 1 green chili pepper, ½ red onion, 3 tablespoon of fresh lime juice, 2 garlic cloves, ¼ cup plain yogurt, salt and pepper to taste. Just put all the ingredients (expect lemon juice) in a blender and blend until it’s a smooth dip. Add lemon juice from the top and mix. Simple recipe isn't it!

You can make this tandoori chicken with a whole chicken but if you are a fitness freak and really concerned about weight management, then just use the chicken breast for this recipe. This tandoori chicken can fall under the categories of Easy chicken breast recipes too. Simply yum!

Let’s not waste time and start cooking –

This recipe can serve up to 4 servings (12 pieces of the whole chicken)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients –

Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
•  1 tablespoon Thai chili paste with garlic  (if you don’t have Thai chili paste simply blend red chilies soaked in hot water with, red onion, garlic, lemon grass and Worcestershire in a smooth paste)
• 12 pieces chicken (6 pc. drumsticks and 6 pc. boneless or bone-in thighs, 4 breast halves and 4 leg quarters, etc.)
• 3 slices of raw onions, separated into rings, for a garnish
• ½ lemon, cut into slices, for garnish
• Mint yogurt chutney to serve

Method –

1. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt and lemon juice. Add the spices, minced garlic, and chili paste, and whisk until you have a smooth, thick marinade.
2. Now put 6 pieces of the chicken in each of two zip-lock bags, and add ½ the marinade to each bag. Zip closed and knead the bags until the chicken is well-coated with marinade. Open bags slightly, squeeze out most of the air, and zip closed again. Refrigerate 12-24 hours (overnight). If you are serving this for dinner, marinade the chicken in the evening before. The longer you marinade the taste will be better but if you are in hurry at least marinade chicken pieces for at least 2-3 hours.
3. Turn the bags and knead the marinating chicken once or twice while it's in the refrigerator.
4. Now once you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, line a large roasting pan with foil, lay a rack over the pan so air can circulate under the roasting chicken, and pre-heat your oven to 425^o F. If you have a convection bake or convection roast cycle, use that.
5. Put the chicken pieces on the rack so they are not touching. Put all the marinade over the chicken pieces covering properly.
6. Once the oven is hot, put the pan with the chicken in the oven, and leave the door closed (no peeking!). Turn the chicken pieces once after 30 minutes of cooking time, then roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly burnt on the second side, but no more than 15 minutes for legs and thighs. And if you are cooking only chicken breasts, poke one with a skewer to make sure the juices run clear.
7. Now turn the oven off, and let the chicken rest in the closed oven for 20-30 minutes more (not critical, but no peeking!). You have to give chicken pieces enough resting time before serving.
8. Serve this with onion rings and mint yogurt chutney (dip) and squeeze fresh lemon juice on the chicken pieces.

Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/restaurant-style-tandoori-chicken-in-the-oven-327824

I hope you will like this recipe. If you have any query or suggestion, feel free to comment.  Bon appetite! 

Love 

Sylvia