Tandoori Chicken

Someone requested a recipe for Tandoori Chicken in the recipe section, thinking the WB would be a great way to make this recipe.

Actually, while a WB will make a good tasting chicken, it won't work for authentic Tandoori. That's because Tandoori quicken is cooked quickly with direct heat, not slowly with indirect heat. Tandoori chicken is made in Tandoor ovens. These are long, cylindrical clay ovens which produce an intense, direct heat of over 500 degrees F (how can you identify an Tandoor chef? The arm hairs are burned off). Tandoori chicken is skewered and thrust into this heat where it cooks quickly. So while it is difficult to make an authentic Tandoor chicken without this oven, an adequate approximation can be made by grilling or broiling the chicken.

I often make my chicken in a Weber grill over lump charcoal, which produces a very hot fire. The ceramic dome of the Weber sort of acts like a clay oven but I also find it dampens the fire somewhat. So sometimes I leave the top off and bank the charcoal to one side, moving the chicken to the cooler side if it starts to burn.

I have made Tandoori Turkey with indirect heat on a Weber grill. It?s not authentic but it sure was good!

Here are two recipes. The first is easy. Get some Tandoori spice mix, yogurt, and lemon and make it the easy way. I get my mix from Penzey's (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscurrytand.html).

Here is the complicated recipe. It's not that hard, just a lot of ingredients. It's worth it. This is from a sadly missed and closed Chicago restaurant called Bengal Lancers.

1 TB ground coriander
1 TB ground cumin
1 TB garlic powder
1 TB ground ginger
1 TB salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red or orange food coloring (this is why the chicken is red in restaurants)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup yogurt
1 TB vinegar
1 TB vegetable oil
3 lb fryer or 3 lb legs and breasts
3 TB ghee (clarified butter) or butter
1/4 tsp saffron
1 TB ground mango power if you can get it
1 onion, cut into rings
lemon wedges

1. Mix all the ingredients except the chicken, ghee, saffron, mango power, onion rings, and lemon wedges. Set the paste aside.
2. Skin, wash, and clean the chicken. Pierce all over with a fork. Make deep cuts in the breasts. Rub the paste all over the chicken and refrigerate for 25 to 48 hours. While marinating, turn chicken pieces a few times and rub in paste gently.
3. One hour before cooking, remove chicken from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature. Start up the grill.
4. In a small saucepan, warm the ghee and add saffron. Set aside.
5. Start grilling the chicken, basting with the ghee/saffron mixture.
6. Continue until chicken is cooked and tender. Sprinkle with mango powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges. Makes about 4 servings.

Thanks, Robert! I found another recipe that doesn't pretend to be authentic, but looks pretty tasty nonetheless. I have that one marinating now, but I'll be sure to use yours for my next round.

Much appreciated,
Art B

Here in San Francisco there are a couple of Indian Markets where I buy bulk spices to make BBQ rubs.

there you can buy big bags of pre-mixed tandoor spice. You just add a couple tablespoons to some yogurt and lemon juice and start marinating. It's very simple and authentic.

I too cook it with banked coals on my kettle. It ain't a tandoor, but I works. You do have to keep moving it back and forth, but for this you do want a bit of char.

Always wanted to try naan on the kettle, too. I figure if you can do a pizza on the grill, you could do naan.

Basting with Ghee is a new one on me. I'll try that.

I do boneless chicken pieces on skewers for tikka masala. that's good too.

For a nice twist try coconut milk instead of yogurt.

An indian lady from my local supermarket reccomnded this and it is wonderful.

I have not tried it in my WSB as yet though.

I do chicken thighs in a tandoori (yogurt-based) sauce on the WSM and they are fantastic. Not authentic, but tasty nonetheless.

Robert,

How much does a 1/4 tsp of saffron cost?

Thanks,
Howard

Saffron adds more color than flavor, and you don't need to add much. Don't worry about the cost by weight. just pick up a few strands and you ahould be good to go.

I have bought the most fantastic saffron from Saffron Imports

They're based in San Francisco on Valencia St. It's currently $35.95/ounce + you get a 2oz bottle off pure vanilla, and a bar of saffron soap, *and* the shipping is free.

When I bought from them, the saffron came in a nice metal box. It was really high quality Greek red saffron. I had it coming out my ears. I was making candy, bread, bouillabaisse ... you name it!

enjoy

morganism

I have not tried saffron from Saffron Imports but will since you recommend it.

I get Indian saffron from Penzeys--quite expensive but really good. The page for it is here. $57.95 for 1/4 ounce or $10.95/gr.

At Penzey's, they have three different kinds. Kashmir 'Mogra Cream' from India. Spanish Coupe and Spanish Superior.

Threads vary in color and quality and price. Per 1/4 ounce, they go from $57.95, $41.95 and $33.95 respectively.

A little goes a long way, and too much can overpower the dish. I always dilute it in hot stock first to dissolve it before adding it to the dish.

One more note on Tandoori, you don't have to use food coloring to get that red color to the meat. Patak's makes a tandoori paste which I use in my marinade. My recipe came from Indian clients, and this is my most requested 'kid' recipe!

Tried the Penzeys, quite good results. To try to duplicate the tandoor, I fired up the 4 burner gasser with one center burner off, others full blast. Temp. was over 600 (thermometer pegged, gasser rocks now that I had it converted to NG). Cooked in only 30 min.

I'm going to give Tandoori Chicken a shot this weekend and was curious if one cut of chicken works better than another? I was leaning towards chicken thighs or maybe leg quarters. Thanks in advance.