TANDOORI CHICKEN- CHICKEN IN SPICY MARINADE AND GRILLED TO PERFECTION!!!

This grilled Indian dish has Mughlai origins.It has become a major part of Indian fast-food and also forms a part of formal cuisine.A starter,side-dish or a whole-meal give it any name you want.
The word 'Tandoori' comes from the fact that it is baked in a 'Tandoor'- a clay chamber heated it up with live charcoal and used for baking at very high temperatures.The charcoal smoke gives the dish a distinctive flavour.Tandoor is used for cooking and baking Naans,tikkas,tandoori chicken and various breads.
Tandoori chicken-whole chicken marinated in thick yogurt and various spices and then grilled in a Tandoor.Heavenly!!!
Usually one doesnt have a Tandoor at home,one can bake it an oven,this recipe is for all who dont have a Tandoor and an oven,no worries you can still have your Tandoori-Chicken,I have used a pan but the taste is all the same.Try it out and you will never regret it.

Cooking Time: 20-30mins
Preparation time: 15mins
Serves: 2-3persons.

Ingredients:

• Whole Chicken/Chicken large pieces- 1kg
• Yogurt- 5tbsp
• Onions(Thick slices)- 1no(large)  -(optional)
• Red chilli powder- 1tsp
• Lime juice- 3tbsp
• Ginger and Garlic paste-2tsp
• Black pepper powder- 1tsp
• Garam masala powder- 1/2tsp
• Turmeric powder/haldi-1/2tsp
• Corriander powder/dhanya- 1tsp
• Cumin powder/Zeera powder- 1tsp
• Dried Fenugreek leaves/Kasuri methi(crushed)- 1tsp
• Chat masala powder- 1tsp
• Gram flour/Besan-1tsp
• Salt to taste
• Kewra essence/Rose water-1/4tsp
• Strawberry Red food color-1/4tsp
• Oil- 2tbsp

Method:

• Clean and wash the chicken/chicken pieces.
• Make deep diagonal cuts.
• Rub in the lime juice and salt in these cuts.keep aside.
• Take a muslin cloth and put yogurt  tie the cloth and hang it around 1/2 to 1 hr, with this all the excess water comes out and you get nice and thick yogurt.
• To the thick yogurt add all the ingredients except the onions and mix well,this is the marinade.
• Apply the marinade on the chicken nicely and keep the chicken in the fridge for atleast 2-3hrs.

Note:Give atleast 2-3hrs for the meat to marinate.Keeping  the marinade overnight gives a very good taste and meat comes out nice succulent.

• Heat a pan,lightly laze with oil ,the pan should be so hot that the moment we put the chicken it should immediately seal the juices without letting water ooze out of the chicken.

Note:Whenever one is using a pan to make tikkas or any marianted meat the pan should be very hot,so when we put the meat on the pan the juices are sealed else the entire dish is spoiled.

• Mix the onion slices with the chicken pieces.Put the chicken or chicken pieces on the pan,the pan should be hot and on medium flame.keep turning the chicken pieces once in a while to avoid burning.It takes about 20-25mins for the chicken to get cooked and get a even reddish-brown color.
• Serve hot with Naan and mint dip.

This goes to CWS event hosted by Radhika and Priya.