FANTASTIC Tandoori Chicken

According to wikipedia the history of Tandoori chicken lies with a man named Kundan Lal Gujral, who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Peshawar before the partition of British India. Trying out new recipes to keep his patrons interested, Gujral tried cooking chicken in tandoors (clay ovens) used by locals until then to cook naan bread. The tandoors are bell-shaped ovens, set into the earth and fired with wood or charcoal reaching temperatures of about 480 degrees. Gujral was able to cook the tender chickens in these ovens making them succulent inside and crispy outside.

After the partition he moved his restaurant to Delhi in a place called Daryaganj.

The Tandoori chicken at Moti Mahal so impressed the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaral Nehru, that he made it a regular at official banquets. Visiting dignitaries that enjoyed Tandoori Chicken included, US presidents John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon, Soviet leaders Nikolai Bulganin, Nikita Kruchev, the King of Nepal and the Shah of Iran.

Ok history aside, there are soo many tandoori chicken recipes out there, I've tried them all but none comes close to this one. And all thanks goes to vah chef, Mr Sanjay Thumma for this awesome deeeelicious tandoori chicken recipe. In this recipe you dont have even use a charcoal grill, simply a conventional oven will do....in the last minutes of cooking the chicken I put the oven on broil so the outside crisps up beautifully.....

You will need:

3 chicken legs and thighs (not separated)
3 tablespoons thick yogurt- greek yoghurt is great for this

1 tsp coriander seeds, dry roasted and ground

1 tsp cumin seeds, dry roasted and ground

1/2 tsp finely grounded black pepper

1 tsp methi powder (dried fenugreek leaves finely ground)

1 tsp garam masala powder

freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons

11/2 tablespoon red chili powder

1 1/2 tsps ginger/garlic paste

red food coloring (optional)

There are two marinades for this chicken. In the first one youll need to combine 1/2 tablespoon chili powder, one tablespoon lemon juice and salt.

Wash chicken and pat dry. Cut gashes along the meatiest parts of chicken. Marinate chicken where the cuts are made with first marinade and set aside for 30 minutes.

Combine yoghurt, garam masala, pepper powder, cumin, coriander, red chili powder, kasuri methi, salt, ginger and garlic paste. Add food coloring if using and oil at the very end. Combine well. Marinate chicken in this for up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 420 F.

Cut a large onion into thinly slices rings. Place each ring in roasting chicken pan. Place chicken ontop of onion rings. Bake for 25 minutes.

Now put your oven on broil. Bake chicken for 10-15 more minutes. Turn off oven and let chicken rest for few minutes. Take out and put on serving plate.

Garnish with freshly cut lemon wedges and onions rings. Enjoy!