Tandoori Chicken
An elegant dish from the state of Punjab, tandoori murgh is one of the most-popular chicken dishes. It can be made in a tandoor (clay oven), baked in an oven or grilled on a barbecue.
Cooking Time: 100mins plus marination
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 4 Chicken quarters, skinned
- 150ml/5fl.oz. Vinegar
- 600ml/1pt Natural Yoghurt
- 2 Large Onions, chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 50g/2oz Fresh Ginger, chopped
- 1 Lemon, quartered
- 2 teasp Garam Masala
- 1 teasp Chilli Powder
- 1 teasp Paprika
- A few drops of red food Colouring
- 1 heaped teasp Salt
- 1/2 teasp Turmeric
- Shredded Lettuce to Garnish
- Sliced Tomatoes to garnish Onion rings to garnish
- Lemon Slices to garnish
Instructions
- Make two 1cm/1/2 inch deep cuts in each chicken piece.
- Place the vinegar and a quarter of the yogurt in a liquidiser or food processor together with a quarter of the onions, the garlic and ginger and process until smooth. Add three quarters of the lemon (rind and all) and continue to process.
- Gradually add the remaining onion and the spices (apart from the salt) and continue to process until smooth. You may have to puree in two or three batches to avoid overloading the liquidiser. The resulting purée should be completely smooth with no lumps.
- Rub the chicken quarters with the salt and the remaining lemon quarter, making sure the juice gets into the cuts.
- Place the chicken in a shallow oven proof dish and pour the purée over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, preferably longer.
- Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas mark4. Cook the chicken in the oven for 1-1/2 hours.
- To serve - line a large serving platter with lettuce. Remove the chicken from the sauce, place on the lettuce and garnish with the tomato slices and onion rings. Serve any remaining sauce separately.