Tandoori Chicken – The Busy (Lazy?) American Version

Tandoori chicken gets is advert from the clay oven it is traditionally cooked in, the Tandoor. The chicken is marinated inward yogurt in addition to an incredibly complex mix of spices, in addition to thence roasted inward the extremely hot tandoor oven. The results are 1 of the world’s groovy culinary experiences.

Indian chefs pass hours carefully preparing their spices for this dish. Most brand their ain version of a “Garam Masala,” which translates to “hot spice.” There are literally thousands of variations, but the nigh mutual ingredients are; cumin, coriander, light-green cardamom seed and/or dark cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, mace, dried hot chili peppers, sesame, mustard seeds, bay leaves, in addition to turmeric.

To produce this properly, the chefs purchase whole seeds in addition to pods of the diverse spices, carefully toast and/or roast them, in addition to thence grind them correct earlier they're used. Some fifty-fifty grind them yesteryear manus using a mortar in addition to pestle. Of course, nosotros busy American cooks don’t convey fourth dimension for all that (or thence nosotros claim), but luckily nosotros tin purchase pre-mixed Tandoori spice. Look for the words “Tandoori Spice” and/or “Garam Masala,” or every bit my bundle was labeled, “Tandoori Masala.”

These spice mixes are available at the major supermarkets (or specialty nutrient stores, if you’re lucky plenty to alive nigh a large city), but tin actually vary inward quality. Please brand certain you lot banking concern tally the label carefully, in addition to that it contains most, if non all, of the spices listed above. Some of the cheaper, lower-quality versions are cipher to a greater extent than than hot pepper in addition to turmeric.

Also, don’t experience bad if you lot don’t convey a Tandoor clay oven sitting inward the dorsum yard. The proficient quondam Weber charcoal grill volition locomote merely fine, every bit you’ll encounter inward today’s video recipe clip. By the way, this tin locomote done using whole, cut-up chicken on the bone, but for speed in addition to lower-fat content, I chose to purpose boneless, skinless thighs. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tbl apparently yogurt
1 1/2 tbl tandoori spice mix
1/2 lime, juiced
extra tabular array salt in addition to hot pepper to taste