Velan's Cuisine Extraordinaire

[mappi]

Tandoori Chicken (Grilled)

Preparation of Tandoori Chicken traditionally will take more than twelve hours before it actually comes on to the dining table. Prepared using about 20 different kind of ingredients (grounded grains mixed into masala powders), the time taken just to put everything together would take few hours, and then comes the double marination part that takes most of the time.

There is a friendly and ‘easy-to-follow-method’ that takes much less time for preparation and margination (in about 2 hours the Tandoori Chicken is ready).

There are few tips and methods to be followed strictly for the Tandoori Chicken to be crisp, soft, juicy and delicious. Dressing well the poultry increases the softness. The marinations (2 different types) give the needed flavours. The ingredients make the meat crisp and delicious.

The chicken pieces must be washed well; fats removed; and dried either with a kitchen cloth or kitchen paper. The meat must be absolutely dry. Dryness allows the meat to absorb the marination and also to bring crispiness to the surface.

The meat being hard or rough once cooked is due to the slits that are put over the pieces. Usually the chicken breast/thigh/leg are slit randomly, and thus, it takes long time to cook resulting in giving a hard texture to the meat.

Slicing chicken has some specific rules/functionalities. Slitting varies according to the part of the poultry prepared for Tandoori. When I visit restaurants, looking at the slits I can say how the Tandoori is going to taste without even putting it in the mouth. That’s how indicative the slits on the meat are. They are not there for design. They are there for a specific reason.

Here is how to slit the thigh and the drumstick with bones (as this recipe covers this part of the poultry) : The cuts must be deep without cracking the structure of the meat piece -

1/ The thigh must be slit thrice until the knife scratches on the bone.

2/ The joint between the thigh and the drumstick must be sliced, so that the two meat parts attached together separate.

3/ Two slits on either side of the drumstick, and one each on the opposite parts. Actually, you do a rotation of the chicken leg while slitting - 2-1-2-1

4/ Important : The bottom of the leg where the tendon nerve is situated, make a circular cut until the flesh tears and exposes the tendon. (Personally I pull the nerve as much as possible and remove it). This is important because, this part resists the heat and the meat around it and interior take long to cook, thus, making the meat rough. By cutting out this part, the heat can enter and the chicken pieces will be cooked uniformly (inside an electric oven or under a Tandoor oven or over a grill smoked by charcoal/wood). In the below photo, make a note of this part of the leg, how detached the meat is from the bottom of the leg bone).

The magic ingredients to prepare Tandoori are: Fresh Cream, Mustard Oil & Red chilli powder.

For the chilli powder, either "Tikhalal" or "Kashmirilal" can be used. Both give a fine red colour to the meat, as I normally avoid using artificial colouring. "Tikhalal" is a bit spicy (hot) compared to "Kashmirilal". Choose to suit your taste (I use Tikhalal).

Mustard Oil & Red chilli powder can be bought, but the fresh cream must be prepared. Check the Marination Two below for measurements - curd vs kg of meat. Take the curd and put it inside a muslin cloth. Tie up the cloth so that the curd does not escape. Squeeze it gently to remove the water from the curd. Don't press hard, else the curd will flow out too. Once the water is spilled out, hang the cloth with the curd inside for a minimum of half an hour. If you can put it hanging for a night, the result will be creamier.

For 400g meat – (equivalent to TWO thigh and the drumstick with bones).

Marination One

- 1/2 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tbs lime or lemon juice
- salt (be very careful with Salt)

- 1/2 Tsp "Tikhalal" or 1 tsp "Kashmirilal" [ATTN: Half tsp is a moderate measure. Use less or more as per your taste. Chilli Powder does not multiply equally with the increase in kilogram of meat, like the other ingredients. The proportion should be according to the hotness you can take.)

Mix them all in a bowl. After slitting the chicken, add them to the Marination One. Make sure to run the mix inside the slits.

Once the chicken is well coated with Marination One, leave for about 30 minutes.

Note : The meat and the Marination TWO (below) must be at the same temperature. If you keep the Marination ONE Chicken in the fridge, the Marination TWO must be prepared at the same time and kept inside the fridge also. I usually keep them in the fridge to increase the drying. Keeping it under normal room temperature is fine too. So, the temperatures of the two marinations must be the same to maintain the consistency and also to keep the texture of the meat uniform.

Marination Two

- 125 gms of curd for TWO thigh and the drumstick with bones - drain water using the muslin cloth method and use only the cream.
- 1 tbs Mustard Oil
- 1/2 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- salt (be very careful with Salt)

- 1 tsp Garam Masala (homemade or the one available in the store). Deep frying seeds and then grinding them increases the quality of taste. For Indian Cooking, just like how our grandmother and mother cooked, the ingredients (masala) should be made just for the food to be cooked. That’s the key for the absolute fantastic taste that is missed out in today's "speedy-going-no-where" society.)

- Half Tsp "Tikhalal" or 1/2 tsp "Kashmirilal" [ATTN : Half tsp is a moderate measure. Use less or more as per your taste. Chilli Powder does not multiply equally with the increase in kilogram of meat, like the the other ingredients. The propotion should be according to the hotness you can take. NOTE : In total there is already ONE teaspoon of chilli powder separated inside two marinations.)

Mix them all well. Drop the marinated chicken pieces into the Marination Two (everything from Marination One goes into the Marination Two). Rub well the chicken so that the Tandoori Masala enters between the Slits.

Keep it aside for 30 minutes, then cook it over the grill or inside an oven.

Cooking time: depends on the medium. Over Charcoal - cook on medium height for 30 minutes, turning the sides every 5 minutes.

Summary:

Clean and dry the meat. Add slits on the thigh and leg portions.

Prepare Cream. Make sure to use Mustard oil and special Chili powders ("Tikhalal" or "Kashmirilal).

Marination One - 30 minutes

Marination Two - 30 minutes.

Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes according to the medium used.



(I have sliced a portion in the smaller Tandoori Chicken to show how uniform the chicken meat has cooked.)