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Tandoori chicken (तंदूरी चिकन) is a typical dish of traditional Indian cuisine, very popular in many parts of South Asia, based on chicken marinated in dahi (yoghurt), enriched with a typical blend of spices.

What is tandoori chicken?
As its name suggests, tandoori chicken is cooked in a tandoor after marinating for several hours.

The tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven with an underground base, where the coal that feeds it is placed, and at the top the opening where the food is lowered to be cooked. The oven reaches very high temperatures and was originally used in Mughal cuisine to bake bread, but its use has also been extended to cooking meat.

To bake breads, the bread is hung raw on the inner walls of the oven where it is baked in a few minutes, while the meat is threaded in pieces on vertical skewers and loses its juices which, dripping from top to bottom, leave the pieces from the bottom, in contact with the embers, so as not to dry out too much.

The tandoor oven is widespread throughout India but is typical of the Punjab region.

The tandoori cooking technique is widespread in India, the Middle East and Central Asia, while in the West it is easily savored in many restaurants around the world.

The meat, usually chicken, lamb or beef, is first marinated for a long time.

How to prepare tandoori chicken
The pieces of chicken, which can be either thighs, wings or sometimes cutlets, are previously marinated for several hours in dahi (yoghurt) and seasoned with tandoori masala, a popular spice blend.

The typical red color of tandoori chicken is obtained by using chili powder, Kashmir or cayenne pepper, while a large amount of turmeric can generate a red-orange color. Both colors can be found in many modern versions.

Tandoori chicken is traditionally cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor that can reach about 900 F (480°C), which is unthinkable for any domestic oven.

Since not everyone has a tandoor at home, there are at least two other alternatives: a traditional oven or a charcoal, electric or gas barbecue.

For cooking in a traditional standard oven, tandoori chicken can be cooked on the oven rack placed on a baking dish or using a spit or rotisserie. Skewers are also used for cooking on charcoal or other barbecues.

In a tandoor, the heat being very high, when the fat of the meat drips on the hot coals, it produces smoke.

The dahi marinade helps tenderize the meat. This marinade, combined with the high heat, is the soul of tandoori chicken. Like almost everything in Indian cuisine, it needs a bouquet of spices that give it very intense aromas.

In India and other countries in the region, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, there are hundreds of such seasoning blends.

What many call curry is a generic name given by the colonizers both for these spice blends and for the dishes prepared with this immense variety of condiments.

Originally, the word referred to a plant native to India, curry, whose leaves frequently appear in these spices. The Indians often call these spice mixtures masala, garam masala being the best known type.

Ingredients
For the chicken marinade
750 g chicken (thighs, upper thighs, wings)
150 ml Greek yogurt (dahi)
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chili powder (or red pepper flakes)
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1½ tablespoon mustard oil (or vegetable oil)
To grill
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the color
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 tablespoons melted ghee (or mustard oil)

Instructions

Marinade
In a large bowl, pour the dahi.
Then add the garlic and ginger pastes, garam masala, red chili powder, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric, kasuri methi, white pepper and ground coriander. Add the oil and lemon juice.
Mix the marinade, which should have a thick consistency.
Make deep slits on the chicken pieces and place them in the bowl.
Distribute the marinade over the chicken pieces, making sure to also soak the slits.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
Cooking
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking and leave it at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 460 F (240˚C) for 25 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to collect the drips.
Distribute 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on a wire rack and place it on the baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
Place the chicken pieces on the grill. Reserve the rest of the marinade.
Grill the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes.
Combine 1 teaspoon of chili powder and 2 tablespoons of ghee (or mustard oil) in a bowl.
After 15 minutes of broiling, drizzle the chicken with half of the reserved remaining marinade and brush the chicken with half the red chili ghee (or mustard oil).
Turn the chicken pieces over and brush them with the remaining marinade and the remaining red pepper ghee.
Grill another 6 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Adjust the cooking time according to the size of the chicken pieces.
For the last 5 minutes, move the aluminum foil lined baking sheet and wire rack to the highest rack to give the chicken a nicely roasted color.
Serve with onion rings, lemon and naan bread.