Sunday, July 4, 2010

Tandoori Chicken

Don't you hate it when you need a small amount of something for a recipe, but end up having to buy a huge quantity of it because the store doesn't sell any other quantity? I recently found myself with a big tub of plain yogurt and had no idea what to do with it, aside from the half cup I needed for a stroganoff recipe. So, after I made the stroganoff, the yogurt sat in my fridge. Then, when I was looking through my recipes, I found a recipe for tandoori chicken that looked great. And it was. Even my husband, who previously thought he didn't like Indian food liked it.


Tandoori Chicken
Recipe adapted from several at Allrecipes
Serves 4
Prep Time - 10 minutes (plus marinading time)
Cook Time - 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ground cloves
8 chicken pieces, bone-in

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon, onion, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, garam masala, cayenne, cumin, coriander, and cloves.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Cut a few small slits, lengthwise, into the chicken pieces and place them in a ziplock bag. Place the yogurt over the chicken and refrigerate for 6-24 hrs (generally longer is better).

About 30 minutes before you're going to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter.

Preheat your grill and lightly oil the grate. Take the chicken out of the bag and shake off any excess marinade. Cook the chicken until cooked through, turning a couple times, about 20-30 minutes.

3 comments:

Joanne said...

That always happens to me with buttermilk and sour cream. It usually ends up sitting in the fridge until it goes bad (not good, I know). You did a great job using up your yogurt, though!

The tandoori chicken looks quite tasty with all those spices.

Simply Life said...

great idea for the yogurt - this looks delicious!

dm said...

I've always wondered about Tandoori chicken. What is it like, exactly, how would one describe the taste?