Made some Tandoori Chicken today

[AllenOK]

First time I've ever made it. Here the recipe I did. The only change from the recipe is that I turned the oven to broil the last ten minutes or so of the cooking time. It came out really good! I'll have to do this again, but I think I'm going to cut down on the quantity of marinade, as I had a little to much marinade for 4 pieces of chicken.

Tandoori Chicken II
Yields: 4 servings

1 c Plain yogurt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 t minced gingerroot
1 t minced garlic
1 T Curry powder
1 t Salt
1 t Paprika
4 pieces chicken, skinned

In a blender, combine the yogurt, onion, gingerroot, garlic, curry, salt, and paprika. Process until it’s well-blended and smooth. Place the chicken into a small bowl or plastic baggie. Pour the marinade over and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken into a baking dish and pour the marinade over. Bake in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Serve with basmati rice or other Indian dishes.

 

[kadesma]

Allen,
like your recipe. I've never used curry and would like to try your recipe..What do I buy curry wise? I don't want to get the wrong thing and ruin the recipe.
Thanks

kadesma

 

[Constance]

I'm like Kadesma...I've never used curry. So ditto on the info, please...

 

[mish]

Thank you for sharing the recipe, Allen. Sounds, easy and tasty.

Kadesma and Constance, I won't speak for Allen. My experience, I used it long ago in a dish and liked it very much. Not fond of spicy food, but didn't taste too spicy or hot for me. The curry I bought (long ago) came in a tiny jar with a red lid, and it just says Curry on the label, on the shelf with all the other herbs/spices at the supermarket. Trying to remember the dish I made. It may have been chicken, coconut milk and curry powder? along with other ingredients.

 

[AllenOK]

Mish, that sounds like McCormick curry powder. It's what I normally have, but I used the last of mine a while back, and now am using "Ship" brand Madras Curry powder. To my uneducated curry palate, it tastes the same as the McCormick. I got the "Ship" brand stuff from work several months ago; it was a freebie in a bag of Basmati rice.

If you really want to get into curry, you'll probably want to start the spices that go into curry, whole, toast them, then grind them yourself. This gives the best results. I may start doing that soon, as I really liked what I had.

 

[Claire]

Curry powder is a shortcut that I approve of heartily!! But you don't have the one ingredient that gets everyone going ... that bright red food coloring!!! I made tandoori skewers for some friends recently, but I think it is best on those leg-and-thigh parts you can buy for oh-so-cheap. It always cracks me up that people think because tandoori chicken is almost always bright red that it is a "hot" dish, when in fact it's quite subtle. Making it in the winter was a challenge (it's so much better cooked on coals) but it sure disappeared.

Do be careful. You cannot allow a yogurt marinade to go on too long. Yogurt is alive, and I kid you not, it will eat your chicken until it is mush. I left some on overnight once and woke up to a disaster mush of yogurt and something vaguely resembling meat. Since then friends have told me an hour or two is the most. There is tender, then there is mush.

 

[Claire]

Oh, by the way, one year, when I made my periodic Indian festival, I bought all spices individually and toasted them. In some cases I even had to shell the seed pods. What happened is that I lost my nose and tongue -- I mean that metaphorically. I got overwhelmed. By dinner time, I couldn't differentiate between the spices, and I had jars and jars of spices I knew I wouldn't use for another year. Hubby and I now are a bit more conservative. I buy a curry blend that I keep on hand, and also always have some garam masala. I have a few other spices that are indiginous to Indian cooking (for example I love the texture of black mustard seed). But unless you cook it on a very regular basis, finding a curry blend you like is the best way to go.

 

[AllenOK]

Many of the recipes I looked at mentioned red food coloring or tomato paste. I thought those were a bit cheesy, so I based mine on a recipe that called for paprika. The marinade ended up being a greenish-tan color (if such a thing is possible). I'll have to try some with red food coloring to try that. I ended up marinating my for about 2 1/2 hours. I was thinking about trying the next batch with a 5 - 6 hour marination, but now I think I'll stick with the 2 hours.

I know I will be trying this when the grilling season kicks off again. I think it should be awesome!

I might be getting a spice grinder here soon, and toast my spices whole. I know that's more authentic. I have a formulation for Garam Masala, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[Claire]

Whenever I've had tandoori chicken, it has been a bright red color that can only be reproduced with food coloring (and yes, every recipe I've used calls for it). I've made it with and without, but have to say that it is more fun to have that bright red color. Hubby insisted on "real" tandoori he last time I made an Indian dinner. I got the spices just right. But have to admit that I used a few drops of red food coloring!!!

 

[Ishbel]

We are so lucky because we have so many Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi shops in the UK... you can always get even small amounts of spices, so the spices are always fresh.

I have a small place near me that makes their own garam masala mix, which saves me the bother!