Authentic Tandoori Chicken
Tandoori Chicken is named after the cylindrical clay oven in which the dish is traditionally prepared, called a tandoor, which commonly gets up to almost 500-degree F in temperature. Western chefs have had to modify the cooking method, either grilling or roasting the chicken. This recipe roasts the chicken in the oven and achieves fabulous results.
The secret to making juicy, tender and bursting Tandoori chicken are Greek yogurt and Garam Masala. The yogurt makes it tender and moist while the Garam Masala gives the iconic aroma and flavors. Bake the marinated chicken in the oven at high heat (400 degrees F). The heat will seal in juice inside the chicken.
Don’t feel intimidated by the long list of spices garlic, onion, ginger, paprika, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper and juiced lemon in our recipe marinade. They are simply spices, no more difficult to utilize than any other common spice on your spice rack. The more Indian food you cook, the more familiar these will become to you.
The original recipe is usually quite spicy. Kashmiri chile powder is used to give it heat as well as give it it’s reddish hue. In this version, food coloring was used to create color, although paprika and turmeric create nice coloring as well.
Authentic Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken legs (8 legs) no skin
- 2 cups greek yogurt
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ginger ground
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp yellow food coloring
- 1 tsp red food coloring
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
Preparing the chicken
- Clean the chicken
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the chicken and mix well
- You can use a zipper bag and just sort of squish it all around
- Let it marinade in the refrigerator for at LEAST 8 hours, preferably 24 hours.
- Remove the majority of the marinade before cooking the chicken.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and cook on a sheet pan for 25-30 minutes.
