Sunday, April 11, 2010

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

I am a huge fan of the tandoori chicken from my local Indian takeout (Cheetal Indian-Chinese Restaurant) but, I've never had success making it myself at home. When I've tried jarred tandoori pastes they have ranged in taste from bad to terrible, and I always feel like I've ruined the meat.

A while back a fellow BBQ competitor (who goes by the username Roxy on various BBQ forums) posted a recipe that he had adapted from his experience working in an Indian restaurant. I decided to give it a whirl and have really enjoyed it.

I have made a couple of tweaks to the recipe myself, so here it is:

Tandoori Chicken

4-5 pounds of chicken pieces
375g (half a 750 g container) of plain yogurt
5 Tbl Oil
3 Tbl Vinegar
5 tsp Tandoori Masala
4 tsp Garam Masala
4 tsp Paprika
4 tsp Salt
3 tsp Ground coriander
3 tsp Garlic puree
3 tsp Ginger puree
2 tsp Cayenne pepper or 1.5 tsp. traditional Indian chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and add chicken pieces, toss well to coat chicken completely. Marinate chicken pieces overnight. Grill over low heat (covered, turning often) until chicken has reached a safe internal temperature. Serve with raita, naan, and your choice of vegetable.

Note: This seems like a lot of salt, it is. The chicken will absorb it as it marinates. If you don't plan on using the whole 4 to 5 pounds of chicken, cut back on the salt accordingly. The rest of the ingredients can remain the same even if using less chicken.


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