Twice-Cooked Mock Tandoori Chicken
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 8chicken thighs, or thighs and drumsticks
- 2tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 or 5garlic cloves, smashed
- 12-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped (or use 2 teaspoons dried ginger)
- 1tablespoon ground coriander
- 1teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1tablespoon paprika
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- Cayenne or chopped fresh chiles or crushed red chile flakes to taste, optional
- 3cups plain yogurt
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
710 calories; 52 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 48 grams protein; 965 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Put chicken in a deep roasting pan.
- Step 2
Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in the ground spices and cook until just fragrant, no more than a minute. Stir in the yogurt, then spread mixture over chicken. Cover and put in oven; bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 1½ hours. (You can prepare chicken up to a day ahead; if you are not going to grill or broil immediately, put whole pan in refrigerator after it cools down a bit.)
- Step 3
Light a charcoal or gas grill or heat broiler; rack should be about 4 inches away from heat source. Remove chicken from yogurt sauce, scraping away any excess.
- Step 4
Grill or broil over direct heat, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp and charred and meat dries out a bit, about 15 minutes total. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Private Notes
Comments
My Indian "Sister" (Didi) taught me to deeply slash the chicken to allow the yogurt/spice mixture to marinate deeply into the chicken. You often find this technique practiced in restaurants also.
The yogurt and spices are great. I've used a variation of the cooking method for many years (when I remember to do it), and it works very well. I first cook the chicken (or whatever) over indirect heat on the grill before browning it over direct heat for a few minutes. Alternatively, I use foil to catch the fat and juices to prevent flareups.
This is a mystery to me... I followed the recipe exactly. The chicken was virtually flavorless (?)
me too!
Made this in toaster oven with 2 thighs slashed. Halved spices with 1/4 c. Yogurt, thinned w/ 2 T.water. The paprika overwhelmed the spices/onion. Will try again adding just enough for color. Loved the char and tenderness from the hour in slow oven. Planning on doctoring leftover sauce to bake/broil potato chunks: chicken or veg stock and a little oil?
After reading the other reviews, I decided to dial up the flavor by making use of the significant pan drippings and cooked down yogurt curds that remained in the baking pan. I used an immersion blender and whirled this into a sauce. After following the recipe to the letter, I topped the grilled chicken with this flavorful creamy sauce and a sprinkling of smoked paprika. I served it with lime wedges. It was very well received.