How to Cook Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Dip
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients needed to make Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Dip:
For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken, skinned and chopped into 4 pieces
- Fresh juice of 2 lemons
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the yogurt dip:
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt amd freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Cooking instructions for Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Dip:
- For the tandoori chicken, make 2-3 shallow, diagonal slashes onto either side of each chicken piece and set aside.
- Heat a small skillet over moderate heat and sprinkle the ground as well as whole spices into it.
- Toast for a minute, shaking them from time to time, until they give out a spicy aroma.
- Tip them into a spice grinder and pulse them into a fine powder.
- Stuff the chicken pieces into a large Ziploc bag and sprinkle the spice powder into it.
- Add the garlic as well as a splash of lemon juice into it, seal and shake them several times until well coated with the ingredients.
- Leave in the fridge overnight to marinate.
- Next day, warm up your outdoor grill over hot charcoal fire and remove the marinated chicken from the Ziploc bag.
- Dab them with paper towels to get rid of any excess moisture and rub salt plus black pepper all over it.
- Smother them with half of the shortening and arrange them on pre-greased hot grill grates, placed 6’’ above the blazing charcoals.
- Grill one side for 10 minutes, while basting it with rest of the shortening from time to time and turn them over to cook the other side similarly, until seared and cooked through.
- While the tandoori chicken grills, make the yogurt sauce by wrapping the yogurt in a piece of cheesecloth and setting aside for 15 minutes to drain.
- Place it into a bowl and stir in rest of the ingredients until mixed well; set aside.
- Arrange the grilled tandoori chicken onto serving plates and serve alongside yogurt dip and lemon wedges.
Image credit Wikimedia Commons
