Cuisine: North Indian (South Asia)
Serves: 4
Now I don’t think this dish needs any particular introduction??Tempting, delicious, this hot blazed chicken marinated with a chunk of spices and yogurt is an excellent choice for both starters as well as the main course. The main ingredient for this is the tandoor masala. These days you get instant tandoor masala powder which really cuts down the task. However here I have gone for making it from scratch. Marinating the chicken in the masala for about 6 hours or overnight gives it a more aromatic flavour. The dominant ingredients are cumin (jeera/jeerakam) and fennel seeds (perumjeerakam). This masala can be used in making tikkas as well.
Ingredients
• 1 Kg Chicken Whole or cut into medium large pieces
• 7 tbs. Tandoori masala (See Notes)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp. chaat masala
• Salt to taste
• Lime Wedges to garnish
• 1 tbsp. veg oil/sunflower oil/olive oil
Mix yogurt with tandoor masala and salt.
Make incision on the chicken pieces and rub the marinade over the chicken and marinate for at least 6 hours. I marinated overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6. Place the chicken on a wire rack in a baking tray. Cook for about 12-15 minutes or until done. Brush the chicken with oil and turn it & cook for another 8-10 minutes.
Remove and sprinkle chaat masala and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve hot.
Note: To make Tandoori Masala, you will need the following:
3 red dry chillies, 4 tbsp. whole coriander seeds, 1 tbsp. whole cumin seeds, ¼ tbsp. whole black pepper, 4-5 tbsp. cloves, 3-4 whole cardamom pods, 1 pod of black cardamom, 1 tbsp. whole fennel seeds, 2 inch sticks of cinnamon , 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground garlic.
Dry roast everything except ginger and garlic. In a blender mix everything and blend into a fine powder.