Tandoori-Style Chicken, An Indian & Pakistani Dish

The name of this dish comes from a particular type of oven used on the Indian subcontinent, called a "tandoor" (see Word History below), a large vase-like oven usually made of clay. The ovens, with coals and wood in the bottoms, can reach temperatures of between 800 and 1000 degrees F. These ovens are also used to bake the famous "naan bread," which is why the bread has little charred spots on it. Of course, many Indian restaurants worldwide use these ovens too. You won't have to send for this oven, however, as your own oven can do the work, it will just take a little longer for the chicken to cook. I've read where the chicken will cook in like 8 to 12 minutes in a tandoor. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds of chicken parts (legs and thighs, or you can use all the same, if you'd like)
1 teaspoon salt
juice of one lemon
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoon paprika (plus more for dusting)
1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (1 teaspoon will not add much heat)
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon garam masala (a spice mix common in India and Pakistan, available in many supermarkets)
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (this is needed only if you skin the chicken)
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
lemon or lime wedges for serving

In India and Pakistan they use chicken pieces without the skin, but I kept it on and it turned out great.* Cut some slits in the meat clear to the bone, so that the marinade will penetrate and it will also help the chicken to cook quickly. I used all thighs and I cut three 1 1/2 inch slits in each. Mix the spices, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and yogurt in a bowl. I used large freezer bags to marinate the chicken. Put the chicken pieces into the bags, then add the yogurt/seasoning mixture. Close the bags and "squish" the marinade around to coat all of the chicken well. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but 12 to 15 hours is better. Remove the bags from the refrigerator and let sit about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 550 (F). Take the chicken pieces from the bags and place them in one layer on a foil lined baking sheet.** Sprinkle each piece with a fair amount of paprika, but not to cover it. Bake for 30 minutes on middle rack. Use a knife or fork to see how close the chicken is to being done. I baked mine for a total of 40 minutes and it was perfect, but all ovens vary, and the size of the chicken pieces will also matter for cooking time, especially thighs, and I left the skin on too. The skin was crispy and marked with red from the paprika, and with some charred spots. Yummy! The meat itself was very tender and I could taste the wonderful spices, but not much heat from the cayenne. After removing the chicken from the oven, I let it set for about 5 minutes. Of course, there will be melted chicken fat on your tray, so be careful when taking it from the oven. Serve with lemon or lime wedges and naan bread if you have access to it.

* I looked at about a dozen recipes for this chicken and all but two removed the skin.

** Only two recipes mentioned wiping off the marinade, so I left it on, then sprinkled on the paprika. 

Click to enlarge the photo

Tandoor-This word seems to go back to the Semitic language family, more particularly, to Akkadian, a Semitic language of the Middle East that died out in about the 2nd Century A.D. Akkadian had the transliterated "tinuru," which meant oven, with the "nuru" part being derived from Semitic "nar," meaning "fire, heat." This was borrowed by Persian, an Indo European language related to English, further down the family tree, as "tanur," and this spread into Hindi and Urdu, both Indo European languages of the Indian subcontinent. Exactly when the word was borrowed into English is tough to say, but perhaps it was borrowed as early as the mid 1600s, due to England's trade and developing colonial interests in India, which then included modern Pakistan and Bangladesh. Certainly by the 20th Century the word had become somewhat more common in English, again from Britain's ties to the Indian subcontinent, but also because of Indian immigrants, not only to Britain, but also to North America.