Tandoori Chicken

April 7, 2022

Tandoori murgh is chicken pieces marinated in spiced yoghurt and cooked at high heat until the meat is tender and the edges are lightly charred. The dish takes its name from the tandoor, the clay oven from northern India where the chicken was originally skewered and cooked over charcoal. In India it is festive food — a dish for weddings and celebrations — but it has become one of the most widely recognised Indian restaurant dishes in the world.

The marinade is built on toasted whole spices pounded in a mortar, with onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and yoghurt. The yoghurt tenderises the meat and lets the spices penetrate, while the acid from the lemon juice opens up the surface. The long 24-hour marinating time is what gives the flavour its depth, so if time is short, this is where to invest it.

In a standard oven without a tandoor you will not get quite the same smoky character, but at 390°F (200°C) with the grill on at the end you come close. The classic red colour originally came from Kashmiri chilli; most modern versions use food colouring for the deep red look, but that is purely cosmetic.

Serve warm or cold with naan and raita, ideally with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over at the table.

Ingredients

Serves 8

Chicken

8 chicken pieces
8 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt

Marinade

10 cloves
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
seeds from 10 cardamom pods
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 piece fresh ginger, 7 cm, peeled and chopped
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1.5 tsp turmeric
3.5 dl plain yoghurt
red food colouring, a few drops (optional)

Directions

Remove and discard the skin from the chicken pieces. Rinse and pat them dry. Make a couple of deep cuts in each piece with a sharp knife so the marinade can penetrate right to the bone.

Place the chicken in a large dish. Drizzle the lemon juice over, sprinkle with salt and rub it thoroughly into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile toast the spices. Spread the cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom seeds on a baking tray and toast in a preheated oven at 390°F (200°C) for 10–15 minutes until the aroma is strong. Leave to cool and pound coarsely in a mortar.

Put the chopped onion, garlic and ginger in a blender with the chilli powder, black pepper and turmeric. Add the yoghurt and the ground spices. Strain the lemon juice from the chicken into the blender and blend until the marinade is smooth. Add a few drops of red food colouring if using.

Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer in a large ovenproof dish and pour the marinade over. Turn the pieces so they are completely coated. Cover and leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Turn the pieces a couple of times during this time.

Take the dish out well in advance so the chicken is not ice-cold when it goes in the oven. Roast in a preheated oven at 390°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

Then switch the oven to the grill setting and leave the chicken under the grill until the marinade has dark spots and the edges are crisp. Keep an eye on it — it happens fast.

Serve warm or cold with naan and raita.

Notes

Active time about 45 minutes. On top of that, allow 1 hour resting with lemon and salt plus at least 24 hours marinating. The actual cooking time is about 30 minutes at 390°F (200°C).

Without food colouring the colour will be yellow-orange rather than red. It does not affect the flavour. For the characteristic red tone without colouring, increase the amount of Kashmiri chilli powder, which gives more colour than heat.

Chicken thighs and drumsticks work better than breast meat here. Dark meat handles the long marinating time and high heat without drying out.