Tandoori Chicken
The Tandoor is clay oven and dished cooked in
it are called tandoori dishes. It has fierce
but an even distribution of heat that enables
meat to cook quickly, forming a light crust
on the outside, sealing the juices of the meat,
leaving the inside moist and succulent after
it is cooked.
It is possible to achieve
perfectly satisfactory results by using a
conventional gas or electric oven setting it
at the highest temperature, though the distinctive
flavour of the clay-cooked chicken will not be
achieved.
Ingredients:
1/2kg chicken joints, legs or breast or a
combination of the two
1 tsp salt to taste
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 - inch cube of root ginger, peeled and
coarsely chopped
2-3 small cloves of garlic, peeled and
coarsely chopped
1 fresh green chilli, coarsely chopped and
seeded if a milder flavour is required
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
75g thick set natural yoghurt
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Tandoori colour (available from the
Indian grocers in powder form) or a few drops
of red food colouring mixed with 1 tbsp
tomato puree
To make Tandoori Chicken
Prepare the marinade with the yoghurt, salt, ground
paste of spices, garam masala, pepper and the green
chillies, chopped ginger and garlic.
Coat
the chicken with the paste and allow it to
marinate for an hour at least.
Skewer the marinated chicken pieces, and arrange
it a hot oven, and allow it cook for half an hour.
Change the position of the skewer every ten
minutes so that all the sides of the chicken
are evenly browned and cooked.
When the meat is cooked it will be tender to
touch, and will be ready to drop off the skewer.
Remove the meat from the oven and gently push
the meat off from the skewer on to a plate.
Arrange on a plate with sliced onion and lime
quartered. The juice of the lime may be squeezed
on to the meat just as you are serving it.
It is a dish that can eaten alone or be can eaten
with rice, hot rotis, chappatis or naan.
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