Not Tandoori Chicken

I love tandoori chicken that I get at Indian restaurants, but when I looked up the recipe I was overwhelmed by the number of ingredients I would have to purchase to make it. I looked around at what I have on hand, what spices seemed reminiscent of tandoori chicken, and created my own, very simple version, cooked in my non-tandoori oven. The dish itself is named for the oven it is cooked in, not the recipe, so I feel free improvising here. Apologies to all you purists. And I stand by my wonderful Not Tandoori Chicken!

A traditional tandoor oven is a large clay oven fueled with charcoal. I remember walking along streets in the east 20’s in New York and peering in through the open doorways of the Indian restaurants and watching them toss the raw breads against the insides of the tandoors to cook them. Meats are cooked by skewering them and laying the long skewers inside the deep round ovens, or stringing them so they dangle inside. The intense heat chars the outside of the skinless meat, creating blackened edges wherever the yogurt marinade clings to the meat, as the sugars in the milk, and the proteins in the meat caramelize.  (All milk has molecules of lactose and lactase which are sugars.)

Image courtesy of http://taazabistro.com/about/

Tandoori chicken is generally made with skinless pieces, as the marinade coats the meat, and protects it the same way the skin does. Because I had so many pieces I decided to try making some with and some without the skin. There was no appreciable difference in flavor or texture, so I recommend removing the skin. These were not spicy at all, though they are quite flavorful, and are definitely kid-friendly. Even traditional tandoori chicken isn’t spicy.  

If you wanted to spice them up I would add any of the following, but not all three:

• Red chili powder (the Indian stuff is HOT) 
• Dried red chilies (the Indian variety) 
• Fresh green chilies (small Thai birds) 

Keep in mind that there really isn’t going to be any gravy or sauce when you cook this, and traditional tandoori chicken is served with raita made with yogurt, flavored with mint, cilantro, and cucumber, and a salad of sliced cucumber and tomato. You can buy packaged Nan bread or even serve this with some flour tortillas heated until blistering, this is not-tandoori, so no need to stay too strict on sides etc.

I would try this with some other spice combinations, including garam masala as in this recipe found at Tiffin Box. Where she offers a recipe to make your own tandoori masala, which I am definitely going to try!  If you are accustomed to red tandoori chicken I’m sorry to tell you that is the result of food coloring! As you can see mine turned out a rich yellow. 

Do you enjoy Indian food? Is it something you’ve tried to make at home? 

Not Tandoori Chicken

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Ingredients

• 6-10 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (You will probably have to remove the skin)
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 handful fresh dill
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1oz piece of ginger (about a 1)

Directions

Step 1

Combine the yogurt, and all remaining ingredients, except the chicken, in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth.

Step 2

Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate for at least two hours, and as long as twelve in the refrigerator

Step 3

Remove chicken from the refrigerator about one hour before cooking Preheat oven to 425F Place chicken on a rack over a foil-lined pan Spread any remaining marinade over chicken

Step 4

Bake chicken for 25 minutes, then turn it over Bake another 10 minutes The chicken will be dark, and almost black on the edges, this is good. The chicken will be moist and tender, and those dark edges will be crispy and delicious! Turn off oven and let chicken sit in oven another 10 minutes