Tandoori Murghi
Of all the food cooked in a _tandoor,_the most popular and the best-tasting is chicken. The distinctive flavor, texture, and color of this dish are achieved by a particular yogurt marinade, by the use of tenderizers, a specialtandooricoloring, and finally, by being cooked in the Indian clay oven.
The recipe given here is designed for the conventional oven and charcoal grill. (Household-modeltandoorsare not yet commercially available in the United States.) The results are very much to my satisfaction.
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings
For marinade
Step 1
1. Cut the wings off the chickens. Remove the neckbone carefully. Place the chickens on a cutting board and quarter them neatly. Then pull away the skin, using kitchen towels for a better grip if necessary. (Reserve the wings, neck, and skin for the stockpot.) Prick the chicken all over with a fork or a thin skewer. Make diagonal slashes 1/2-inch deep, 1 inch apart on the meat. Put the meat in a large bowl.
Step 2
2. Add meat tenderizer and lemon juice to the chicken, and rub them into the slashes and all over for 2 minutes. Cover and marinate for 1/2 hour.
Step 3
3. Put all the ingredients of the marinade into the container of an electric blender or food processor, and blend until reduced to a smooth sauce. (Alternatively, garlic and ginger may be crushed to a paste and blended with the remaining ingredients.)
Step 4
4. Pour this marinade over the chicken pieces and mix, turning and tossing, to coat all the pieces well. (_A note of caution:_Since certain brands of _Tandoori_cooking tend to stain the fingers, it is advisable either to use a fork to turn the chicken pieces in the marinade or use a pastry brush to spread it over the chicken.) Cover and marinate for 4 hours at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight, turning several times. Chicken should not remain in the marinade for more than 2 days, because the marinade contains a meat tenderizer which, with prolonged marinating, alters the texture of the chicken meat to very soft and doughy.
Step 5
5. Take the chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. The chicken is now ready to be either roasted in the oven or broiled over an electric or charcoal grill.
To Roast in the Oven:
Step 6
Start heating the oven to 500°- 550°F. Take the chickens out of the marinade. Brush them with _ghee,_and place them on an extra-large shallow roasting pan, preferably on a wire rack. Set the pan in the middle level of the oven, and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through. There is no need to baste while the chicken pieces are roasting, because the enclosed environment keeps the chickens from drying excessively.
To Broil Indoors:
Step 7
Preheat the broiler. Brush the grill with a little oil to prevent the meat's sticking. Place the chicken pieces, slashed side up, on the grill, and brush the slashed side with _ghee._Cook 2 to 3 inches away from the heat for 20 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Brush often with _ghee_during cooking.
To Grill Outdoors:
Step 8
Fire the coal well in advance (about 1 1/2 hours before you are ready to begin cooking), so that a white ash forms over the surface of the coal. This is when the coal is at its hottest. Place the grill at least 5 inches away from the heat, and rub generously with oil. Place the chicken pieces, slashed side up, over the grill and brush them with _ghee._Let chicken cook without turning for 10 minutes. Turn, baste the other side, and cook for 10 minutes. Continue to cook, turning and basting the chicken every 10 minutes, until it is done. The cooking time for broiling and grilling usually varies widely. Much depends upon the intensity of the heat and its distance from the chicken. The point to remember is that the chicken pieces have been marinating in a very strong tenderizing solution for two days and therefore will cook much faster than standard broiled or barbecued chicken.
Step 9
Serve the chicken immediately, lightly brushed withgheeor oil and accompanied by Roasted Onions.
How would you rate Tandoori (Indian Barbecued) Chicken?
Leave a Review
Reviews (14)
Back to TopThe chicken was tender, juicy and flavorful . I marinated it overnight and cooked it in a conventional gas oven. It obviously does not taste exactly like the authentic tandoori chicken cooked the traditional Indian way, but it is healthy and delicious. I made mine a bit more spicy with additional red pepper and I am glad i did, otherwise would have been a bit bland for me.
catstory59
Boston MA
3/23/2016
Quick, easy marinade to assemble; tasted fabulous after being cooked on the grill. A keeper! B.J. Harrick
crewmom
Arlington, Virginia
7/20/2011
I like to add garam masala to my tandoori chicken marinade. I also use for a variation tandoori spice blend from www.indianfoodsco.com. It looks like their blend has some herbs in it - that make my tandoori chicken come out excellent and aromatic.
Anonymous
CA
7/26/2009
Marinating in yogurt makes the chicken so tender and so tasty. A keeper - and I cooked it in the oven -no probloem
cmp2491
New York
4/24/2008
A perfect process
Anonymous
11/13/2005
Very Tasty. Delicious, I recommand it
Anonymous
Montreal
8/21/2002
I made this for Christmas this year, using game hens. Even the kids liked it. My husband has already asked me to make it for our New Years party as well.
Anonymous
Startup, WA
12/28/2001
Did this on the grill after marinating for only 3 hours. It was absolutely fabulous! I used a combination of breasts and thighs. Folks had 2nds and 3rds!
Larry
Los Angeles
7/9/2001
Just for fun, I threw about a cup of shredded coconut into the marinade and grilled the chicken on the barbeque. It was great!!!
Michael
Phoenixville, PA
6/19/2001
I cooked it on the grill and it turned great. My guests really enjoyed it.
Anonymous
博尔德有限公司
5/29/2001
I would have to agree with the disappointed comments about this recipe when done in the oven. I kept closely to the recipe (no meat tenderiser: don't need it with Australian free range chicken)and marinated overnight. I suspect that this recipe (like all Tandoori chicken)is best either in a Tandoori or on a hotplate of some type. Home ovens (at least ours) don't give satisfactory results. However, my parents do a good version in their Weber BBQ, a reasonable alternative. I would recommend against others using this recipe in an oven.
Anonymous
Adelaide, Australia
5/15/2001
anyone who thinks they can replicate the effects of a tandoor oven at home is a fool. it's like trying to broil a steak at home while a steakhouse's broilers get 10x as hot as your oven's... to the cook from bedford: madhur in general, and especially her restaurant dawat here in manhattan, is quite overrated. sahni's book is superior for a knowledgeable reader who realizes mangos and fish here in the us are not quite the same as those in asia...
Anonymous
ny ny
5/10/2001
To the cook in MA -- did you actually try it? I made a few adaptations, but thought it was pretty close to the real thing. I used paprika and broiled it indoors. Delicious!
Anonymous
a cook from Columbia SC
3/7/2001
It's not that I don't like Tandoori Chicken, I do. Ms. Sahni's recipe is too large, and I have her book. Many of the recipes are made as though the ingredients are Indian ingredients, not American ingredients. As Madhur Jaffrey pointed out in one of her books, our meats and poultry is quite different from that of India -- much less tough, requiring differing amounts of time to cook, different amounts to approximate the same dish.
Anonymous
Bedford, MA
1/11/2001
It's not that I don't like Tandoori Chicken, I do. Ms. Sahni's recipe is too large, and I have her book. Many of the recipes are made as though the ingredients are Indian ingredients, not American ingredients. As Madhur Jaffrey pointed out in one of her books, our meats and poultry is quite different from that of India -- much less tough, requiring differing amounts of time to cook, different amounts to approximate the same dish.
Anonymous
Bedford, MA
1/11/2001
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