Cast Iron Tandoori Chicken Food

RESTAURANT-STYLE TANDOORI CHICKEN IN THE OVEN!

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt and lemon juice. Add the spices, minced garlic, and chili paste, and whisk until you have a smooth, thick marinade.
• Put 6 pieces of the chicken in each of two zip-lock bags, and add 1/2 the marinade to each bag. Zip closed and knead the bags until the chicken is well-coated with marinade. Open bags slightly, squeeze out most of the air, and zip closed again. Refrigerate 12-24 hours. If serving this for dinner, I usually make the marinade and start the chicken soaking the evening before.
• Turn the bags and knead the marinating chicken once or twice while it's in the refrigerator.
• When you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, line a large roasting pan with foil, lay a rack over the pan so air can circulate under the roasting chicken, and pre-heat your oven to 425. If you have a convection bake or convection roast cycle, use that.
• Place the chicken pieces on the rack so they are not touching. Empty what is left of the marinade into a bowl or measuring cup and touch up any "empty" spots on the chicken pieces with the marinade.
• Once the oven is hot, put the pan with the chicken in the oven, and leave the door closed (no peeking!). Turn the chicken pieces once after 30 minutes of cooking time, then roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly charred on the second side, but no more than 15 minutes for legs and thighs. If you are cooking breasts, poke one with a skewer to make sure the juices run clear.
• NOW TURN THE OVEN OFF, and let the chicken rest in the closed oven for 20-30 minutes more (not critical, but NO PEEKING!).
• Remove the chicken to a warm platter, garnish with the onion rings and a few squeezes of lemon, and enjoy!
• See if you don't agree this is as good as any "authentic" Tandoori chicken you've ever tried!

CAST IRON TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rinse the chicken with cold water and pat dry. Trim the excess fat. Loosen the skin from the breast and drumsticks by gently pushing your fingers in between the skin and the meat, starting at the neck cavity. Remove the backbone using kitchen shears, and then place the chicken breast-side up on a cutting board. Flatten by firmly pressing the heel of your hand down over the breastbone. Whisk together 1/3 cup of the Tandoori Spice, the yogurt, ginger and garlic in a large glass baking dish. Coat the chicken thoroughly in the marinade, and then let marinate in the refrigerator 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle all over with the remaining 2 tablespoons Tandoori Spice. Heat a large cast-iron pan over high heat, and add the ghee. Sear the chicken skin-side down until crispy and charred, 5 to 7 minutes, and then flip and place in the oven until an instant-read thermometer stuck in the thickest, meatiest part of the thigh registers between 155 and 160 degrees F, 20 minutes. Baste generously with the lemon curd every 5 minutes. Tent the chicken with foil and let rest before serving.
• For Tandoori Spice: Heat the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves and cinnamon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the cumin becomes brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Grind the spices in a spice grinder or coffee mill until powder fine, and then transfer to a bowl with the annatto seed, paprika, Kashmiri powder, salt, turmeric, mace and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight container up to 4 months. Yield: 1 cup.

TANDOORI ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the yogurt, ginger, turmeric, cumin, paprika, cayenne, garlic, and onion, and process to a smooth puree. Put the puree into a shallow, flat dish and place the chicken breasts into the puree, coating both sides evenly. Allow to marinate, covered and refrigerated, for several hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Season the chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper and place on a rack in a roasting pan that has been preheated for 10 minutes in the oven. Roast the chicken, turning once, until fully cooked but still moist and not dried out. Cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the chicken breasts.
• Alternately, prepare an outdoor grill and cook over indirect heat with the lid on, turning once. Serve the chicken breast with a salad and a grain such as lentils to make a complete meal.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make the marinade, toast the cloves, whole chiles, both types of cardamom seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds in a cast-iron skillet until fragrant, 3 minutes or so, shaking the pan. Then, pour the spices into a spice grinder and grind them until you get a fine powder.
• In large bowl, whisk together the spice mixture you just made with the yogurt, oil, malt vinegar, salt, ground cinnamon, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic and ginger until well combined. It should smell amazing! Taste and adjust with more salt if it needs it.
• Reserve 1/3 cup of the marinade and set aside; you're going to make a sauce out of this reserved marinade.
• Prick the chicken thighs with a fork. Add the thighs to the rest of the marinade, and toss to coat. Marinate at least 1 hour in the fridge, and at most overnight.
• When you're ready to cook, line a baking sheet with foil, and turn your broiler on. Place each chicken thigh on the baking sheet, making sure each one is coated with the marinade, but isn't swimming in it. Cook the chicken thighs under the broiler until starting to blacken, about 5 minutes. Then turn the oven to 350, and cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the meatiest part of the thigh registers 160 degrees F, another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• While the chicken is cooking, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan, along with 1/2 cup water and the honey. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, whisking all the time. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl or gravy boat for serving.
• Serve the chicken thighs on a platter with a fresh squeeze of lime and a drizzle of the sauce.

INDIAN TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Remove skin from chicken pieces, and cut slits into them lengthwise. Place in a shallow dish. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and lemon juice. Set aside 20 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Mix until smooth. Stir in yellow and red food coloring. Spread yogurt mixture over chicken. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours (the longer the better).
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium high heat, and lightly oil grate.
• Cook chicken on grill until no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix the lemon juice with the paprika and red onions in a large shallow dish. Slash each chicken thigh three times, then turn them in the juice and set aside for 10 mins.
• Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Give everything a good mix, then cover and chill for at least 1 hr. This can be done up to a day in advance.
• Heat the grill. Lift the chicken pieces onto a rack over a baking tray. Brush over a little oil and grill for 8 mins on each side or until lightly charred and completely cooked through.