Solar Tandoori Chicken In A Bag 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!

SOLAR TANDOORI CHICKEN IN A BAG

Steps:

• This month's issue of Bon Appétit magazine has four turkey recipes that look really good. Of course four whole turkeys are about three and a half more than the two of us consume in a year so I've made some compromises. My marinade was made with about a cup of plain yogurt, a tiny piece of fresh ginger, a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, a few cloves of chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon of paprika, two tablespoons of Garam Masala, 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder, and a little black pepper. All the ingredients were pureed in a blender and put in an oven bag. After rubbing the chicken inside and out with salt, I tossed in a couple of cardamom pods, a clove of garlic, a chopped shallot, some cumin seeds, and a stalk of celery. The chicken was then placed in the bag with the marinade and refrigerated overnight. It probably took about an hour and a half to roast it in the Sun Oven the next day, and the back yard smelled like an Indian restaurant. After straining the cooking liquid and removing the top layer of fat I simmered it on the stove in a small pot for about 20 minutes. I served it with rice, and it wasn't at all bad.