Tandoori Chicken. Cubes Of Chicken Marinated In Yoghurt And Indian Spices

Practically every Indian restaurant offers tandoori chicken. The secret behind this succulent tandoori chicken dish lies in the long marinade in yogurt with spices. The coloring used to achieve the distinctive red tandoori color is achieved using alkanet root. This is not readily available and so food coloring powder is used to achieve a similar result. Use either red, orange or yellow.

Traditionally, tandoori chicken dishes are cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor. You can achieve an authentic tandoor flavor using your barbecue grill.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Marinating time: 24 hours

Cooking time: 30 minutes

• 6 large chicken legs
• 4 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Marinade

• 9 fl oz (265ml) of yoghurt
• 3 tablespoons of mustard oil
• 9 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1.5 teaspoons of salt
• 2.5 teaspoons of paprika
• 2.5 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 2.5 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 0.5 teaspoons of food coloring powder (red, orange or yellow)

1. Skin the chicken and slash the flesh with short gashes. Place in a shallow dish and rub the lemon or lime juice, and salt, into the flesh. Leave for about half an hour.

2. Mix all of the other ingredients together and rub thoroughly into the chicken. Cover and leave to stand overnight in refrigerator.

3. Place the marinated chicken over medium hot coals and grill for about 25 to 30 minutes until cooked. Turning occasionally and basting with any remaining marinade.

4. Serve on a bed of lettuce and onion rings with a wedge of lemon. Accompanied with naan bread and tandoori chutney.