Tandoori Chicken (Made Easy)

Magic Spice's Note:

My recipe for oven-style Tandoori chicken.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

CHICKEN

• 3 lbs skinless chicken (legs and thighs)

RUB

• 2 tablespoons lime juice (lemon juice okay)
• 2 -3 teaspoons cayenne pepper (heat mellows from yogurt and broiling)
• ¾ teaspoon salt

MARINADE

• ½ cup yogurt
• 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (or 1 tablespoon each)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon red food coloring (for impressive authentic color)

BASTE

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or 2 tablespoons olive oil

BOUQUET

• 1 medium white onion , sliced (1-inch thick slices)

GARNISH

• chopped fresh cilantro
• lime wedge

Directions:

1. REMOVE the skins and excess fat from chicken; PAT chicken dry; SLICE chicken crosswise against the bone with 2-3 deep cuts through to the bone, (on each side of chicken legs); SANITIZE hands; PLACE chicken pieces using tongs into a large Ziploc bag or a wide shallow dish for marinating.
2. PLACE all recipe ingredients before you in your work station; WHISK the RUB ingredients together in a medium bowl: 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt; POUR over chicken pieces without touching chicken with hands.
3. WHISK the MARINADE ingredients in the same medium bowl: 1/2 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (or 1 tablespoon each), 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (or curry powder), 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring.
4. RUB chicken containing the rub mixture, thoroughly into slits of chicken by hand; POUR the MARINADE mixture over chicken and rub this into chicken by hand; SANITIZE hands again; PLACE chicken into refrigerator to marinate 3-5 hours to overnight if desired for fuller flavor and more tender chicken (recommended but not absolutely necessary); SHAKE away excess marinade from chicken; BRUSH chicken on all sides with vegetable oil or light olive oil.
5. PLACE one oven rack in the second-lowest position, and another rack in the highest position; PREHEAT oven to BAKE at 500°F (make sure oven is clean!); LINE a broiler pan with foil; GREASE the foil over bottom of a broiler pan; ARRANGE chicken (bone-side up for thighs) in broiler pan without the grill cover; TURN on the overhead oven fan.
6. BAKE chicken 20 minutes on the LOWER oven rack; TURN chicken pieces over using tongs (scrape from bottom if necessary using a sharp spatula first); CONTINUE baking chicken on lower rack for 7 minutes; SLICE one white onion into 1 inch thick intact wedges without separating for the BOUQUET.
7. REMOVE chicken pan from oven carefully using oven mitts; BASTE chicken again with oil; ARRANGE onion slices over chicken; PLACE pan onto the top broiler rack; SET the BROILER to HIGH setting; BROIL chicken just until edges begin to slightly char, about 2 minutes.
8. REMOVE chicken from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before serving; CUT and and separate onion slices into rings for garnishes.
9. SERVING SUGGESTION: Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and serve with fresh lime wedges, fragrant basmati rice, nan bread with mint yogurt sauce (raita), cucumber salad, hot or iced tea or chilled lassi (TO MAKE FRAGRANT EAST INDIAN BASMATI RICE, see Fragrant East Indian Basmati Rice).
10. SERVE chicken with desired garnishes and side dishes and ENJOY!