Tandoori Chicken

Name: Tandoori Chicken
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 12 chicken drumsticks; 1/2 lime (or 1/4 lemon); 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (store-bought or homemade; optional); 1/2 onion (optional); salt; marinade; 200g full-fat yogurt; 1 heaping tablespoon onion paste; a little red food coloring (optional; i didn't use any); 2 tablespoons oil; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 2 teaspoons sweet paprika; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 small piece cinnamon stick (2 cm); 1 green cardamom pod; 2 bay leaves

January 13, 2011

Chicken Grilling Recipes Meat Dishes Oven Recipes Indian

I didn't have a tandoor, of course, and considering how they were prepared, they could be called "Electrolux Drumsticks" instead 😋 But they turned out very well anyway - I improvised a bit, using a grill pan to simulate the crust created by the tandoor oven.

PS. Promise me you'll put parchment paper in the pan under the drumsticks; I didn't and I don't know how I'm going to clean that pan... always rushing... and I forgot to grill the onion too!

Ingredients

12 chicken drumsticks
1/2 lime (or 1/4 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (store-bought or homemade; optional)
1/2 onion (optional)
salt

Marinade

200g full-fat yogurt
1 heaping tablespoon onion paste
a little red food coloring (optional; I didn't use any)
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small piece cinnamon stick (2 cm)
1 green cardamom pod
2 bay leaves

How to prepare tandoori chicken

Remove the skin from the drumsticks. Make 3 incisions in each drumstick, in the meatiest areas, so the marinade can penetrate those zones. The incision should reach the bone. Be careful not to start or end at the edge! The incision should be in the center of the drumstick (see photo 1).
Sprinkle salt on each drumstick and massage so it gets into the incisions.
Drizzle the drumsticks with lime juice and massage again to coat well.
Grind all the dry marinade spices in a spice grinder. Mix the spices into the yogurt mixed with onion paste and red coloring if you have it.
* Since I didn't have red food coloring, I colored the marinade with sweet paprika
Pour the marinade over the drumsticks and massage well, so each drumstick is well coated. Add the oil and massage a bit more.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally 24 hours.
Place the drumsticks (drained of marinade!) in a pan with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes at 220°C.
Remove the drumsticks from the oven and sprinkle with a little garam masala if you want to intensify the flavors.
Heat a grill pan brushed with a drop of oil and add the onion slices (which I forgot!). Grill the drumsticks on both sides until they get grill marks (about 2 min per side).
For more visual and auditory effect (how enticingly they sizzle when you put them on the table!), serve directly from the grill pan, accompanied by rice and mint raita.