Tandoori Chicken

[Andy M.]

TANDOORI CHICKEN


4 Ea Chicken Thighs
5-7 Cl Garlic, grated
1 In Ginger, grated
5-7 Ea Green Chilies, minced
4 Ea Lime Juice
3 Tb Tandoori Chicken Masala
3 Tb Cumin Powder
TT Salt
1½ Tb Coriander Powder
½ Tb Red Chile Powder
½ C Plain Yogurt
1 Tb Butter
2 Tb Cilantro, chopped


Trim excess fat from the thighs. The thighs may be cooked with or without the skin.

Make a paste of the garlic, ginger and green chilies.

Combine the paste with the lime juice, masala, cumin, salt, coriander and red chile powder and yogurt.

Marinate the thighs in the marinade for 1-4 hours.

Grill the marinated chicken until done. There should be charring of the chicken from the grill. This is traditional.

For the last couple of minutes of cooking time, brush the chicken with melted butter.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

 

[taxlady]

What's in "Tandoori Chicken Masala"?

 

[buckytom]

What's in "Tandoori Chicken Masala"?

I've made Andy's recipe before, and I used garam masala which worked out well.

 

[taxlady]

I've made Andy's recipe before, and I used garam masala which worked out well.

Thank you. I have some homemade garam masala.

 

[buckytom]

You're welcome. I marinate skinless chicken overnight for deeper flavor.

Since I don't have a tandoor, I crank my grill up to 550 to 600°, then turn off all but 1 burner and grill the chicken bone side down away from the lit burner. The temp drops to about 375 after a short while.

When the chicken is just about cooked through, I turn all burners back on, and flip the chickn to get some char on the meatier side, then flip again to finish with char on the bone side.

I like to serve mine with thinly sliced raw sweet onion, and naan.

 

[Andy M.]

What's in "Tandoori Chicken Masala"?

It's just another spice blend. Very similar to garam masala. I also cook the chicken on a super hot grill.

 

[taxlady]

It's just another spice blend. Very similar to garam masala. I also cook the chicken on a super hot grill.

I figured it was another spice blend. I'm just wondering what is in it that isn't in the recipe or in garam masala. Do I really need to source another masala or find a recipe for it?

 

[Andy M.]

i figured it was another spice blend. I'm just wondering what is in it that isn't in the recipe or in garam masala. Do i really need to source another masala or find a recipe for it?

 

[pepperhead212]

taxlady Here is a recipe I use for a tandori masala. Compared to the garam masala recipe I use, it has some green cardamom, mace, nutmeg, and methi leaves, while the garam masala has Indian bay leaf (tejpatta) in it. As with all of these spice blends, there are countless versions out there!

Tandori masala

2 medium black cardamom pods
1 small nutmeg (or 1 tsp grated nutmeg)
1 tb blade mace (or 1½ tsp ground mace)
2 medium Sri Lankan cinnamon sticks
2 tsp whole cloves
1½ tb cumin seeds
1½ tb coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
8 green cardamom pods

3 tb dry methi (fenugreek) leaves

2 tsp ground ginger

Pound the black cardamom and nutmeg pods in a heavy mortar and pestle, just to break them up some, and break up the cinnamon sticks some. If you have no whole mace or nutmeg, add the ground at the end, with the ginger.

Place all of the seasonings other than the methi and ginger in a heavy skillet, over medium heat, and cook about 4-5 minutes, stirring or shaking and tossing constantly, until it gets that toasted aroma, and a few whisps of smoke show up. Remove from heat, and add the methi leaves, and shake and toss about 10 seconds, then pour onto a plate, to cool the mix.

When cool, grind to a powder, along with the ground ginger. Store in the freezer, if not used often, or share with friends. Makes just under
3/4 c.

 

[karadekoolaid]

A simple garam masala can be made using equal parts of cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Then there´s a Punjabi version called dhanajeera garam masala, which includes coriander and cumin. Changes the spice profile, but also makes the masala cheaper!
I use a mixture of all the above spices and add some sweeter spices (like fennel seeds). You can also add chiles if you want, or toasted coconut, or toasted urid dal; the options are infinite.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Another thing. Looking at Pepperhead´s recipe, I´m pleased to see there´s no "red" colouring in the mix, which is almost mandatory in commercial brands.
As a youngster in London, tandoori chicken was almost always bright red, served with obligatory slices of onion and a slice of lemon on top.

 

[taxlady]

Thanks Andy and Dave. I have some homemade garam masala.

I have a question about the cardamom. Am I supposed to take the seeds out of the pod before I grind it? That's what I have always done, but I have seen hints that maybe that's not the way it's supposed to be done.

 

[pepperhead212]

Another thing. Looking at Pepperhead´s recipe, I´m pleased to see there´s no "red" colouring in the mix, which is almost mandatory in commercial brands...

I did see that in a couple of recipes, as well as garlic powder. I would never add red food color to anything, and since I'd probably be putting 7 or 8 cloves of garlic in a dish, why put garlic powder?

I have a question about the cardamom. Am I supposed to take the seeds out of the pod before I grind it? That's what I have always done, but I have seen hints that maybe that's not the way it's supposed to be done.

I have seed some recipes calling for the removal of the seeds from black cardamom, before toasting and grinding, but that seems like a waste, as the shell has much of the flavor. And many recipes call for the black seeds of the green cardamom, but again, I rarely use those. I think it's more for when a more understated flavor is wanting, maybe in sweets.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Yep - I´ve seen that too.
I´ve got a cuisinart spice/nut grinder. I toast all my spices for garam masala, whole, then put them through the grinder, pods and all.
After I´ve done that 3 or four times, there´s only a bit of husk left (which I toss out), but all the rest is pulverised.

 

[taxlady]

So, star anise gets ground whole too, not just the seeds?

 

[pepperhead212]

I've never had a problem with star anise, either, and I make that Chinese 5 spice mix, plus some of the Indian masalas that call for it.

The only thing that I ever had trouble with as far as a spice in a spice grinder, was a thick piece of cassia that broke the blade on my grinder, which was over 20 years old at the time! Now what I do, in recipes calling for cassia, is use cassia chips, which can be bought in larger chunks in Indian markets, but I like the ones I got from spicesinc. Using this, I weigh it, in place of the sticks. Not powdery at all, and all similar in size to most of the seeds and spices I toast in the skillet.
https://www.spicesinc.com/p-1041-cinnamon-chips.aspx

 

[karadekoolaid]

So, star anise gets ground whole too, not just the seeds?

Yes - although I only grind it for Chinese 5-spice powder, which I use infrequently. The few Indian recipes I have that call for star anise (it´s an unusual spice for Indian food; fennel seed being preferred) use it whole.
As for cinnamon sticks, they get bashed with a meat tenderiser before being ground!

 

[summer57]

Yes - although I only grind it for Chinese 5-spice powder, which I use infrequently. The few Indian recipes I have that call for star anise (it´s an unusual spice for Indian food; fennel seed being preferred) use it whole.
As for cinnamon sticks, they get bashed with a meat tenderiser before being ground!

haha yes, I also take a meat tenderizer to cinnamon sticks. Great stress reliever!

 

[Rascal]

Yep - I´ve seen that too.
I´ve got a cuisinart spice/nut grinder. I toast all my spices for garam masala, whole, then put them through the grinder, pods and all.
After I´ve done that 3 or four times, there´s only a bit of husk left (which I toss out), but all the rest is pulverised.

You and I are similar tandoori BUT I use the red powder for asthetic looks.

Russ