Ajoy's Tandoori Chicken

[joshallen2k]

I noticed a link to this recipe on another post... http://thoughtsfromajoy.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/the-king-of-kebabs-perfect-for-a-fathers-day-lunch-or-dinner/

Not having had tandoori chicken in over a decade, I thought I'd try this recipe out. Here are some pics:





I intended to follow the recipe to spec, although some of the measurements are suspect or unclear. For example, that's considerably more than a teaspoon of whole cardamon in the "Kebab Garam Masala". There is also no measurement of garam that actually gets applied to the chicken. I guessed here and there but followed to spec mostly.

The instruction on prepping the whole chicken for tandoori, as well as the stage 1 marinade were very useful and could be applied to different variations of the main marinade.

I was expecting to be disappointed by the end result, as it seemed quite simple and devoid of many of the "BIR tikka" marinade ingredients. The result was actually delicious. I will play with the marinade going forward though to try and replicate closer to the tandoori flavour I remember.

-- Josh

[Secret Santa]

it seemed quite simple and devoid of many of the "BIR tikka" marinade ingredients. The result was actually delicious.

You mean it hadn't been Pataked to death.  ;D

And undoubtedly all the better for it.

[joshallen2k]

You mean it hadn't been Pataked to death. 

You're probably right, SS.

But I was also referring to mint sauce, mustard oil, methi, coriander, lemon juice - and some of the others that crop up from time to time in a marinade.

- Josh

[Stephen Lindsay]

Looks great JA!

[colin grigson]

That's a great looking chicken Josh !! .. well done mate !!   

As and when and if you tweek the recipe to your liking would you be kind and post it since there are very few tandoori chicken recipes on here and I like you have not tried it for way more than 15 years .. but I'd love to do a nice whole chicken like yours for when something a little healthier is in order.   

[solarsplace]

Hi

Lovely looking tandoori chicken!

How did you cook it please? - did you use a BBQ or just under your normal grill?

Cheers

[joshallen2k]

How did you cook it please? - did you use a BBQ or just under your normal grill?

I oven baked it on high heat for about 45 minutes, then I turned on the oven broiler and gave it a scorching to develop the char you see in the pics.

As and when and if you tweek the recipe to your liking would you be kind and post it since there are very few tandoori chicken recipes on here

I agree - a whole tandoori chicken is a healthy alternative to the usual curry. I even managed some mixed greens with this one! I will probably give this a go (and some tweaks/changes) every couple of weeks and if I stumble on a marked improvement, I will post it on cr0. The biggest learning for me was how to prep the chicken per the original recipe.

-- Josh

[Peripatetic Phil]

I oven baked it on high heat for about 45 minutes, then I turned on the oven broiler and gave it a scorching to develop the char you see in the pics.

I'm not entirely certain I know what an oven broiler is, Josh.  I know that Canadians and Americans use the term "to broil", and I had always assumed that it meant what we Britons call "to grill", but if that is the case I am unclear what an oven broiler is; could you explain, please, for the benefit of your British readers ?

** Phil.

[joshallen2k]

could you explain, please, for the benefit of your British readers ?

Phil - to me, a broiler is an element at the top of the oven cavity for searing foods. So for the tandoori chicken, after 45 minutes cooking, I just turned it to broil for about 2 minutes.

Here's a picture of mine. This is a gas-fuelled one. Typically they are elements that heat electrically.

Is a broiler something else in the UK? I forget!

-- Josh

[Kashmiri Bob]

You mean it hadn't been Pataked to death.  ;D

Quality! PTD could be a useful curry-related acronym? 

Very nice looking TC by the OP.

Rob