Chicken Tandoori

Urmi of Ume’s Kitchen is one of those members of Kolkata Food Bloggers who is silently very active. There are no airs and fancies about her and she goes about doing her bit in calm and composed refinement. Having met her once, I can safely say that she is one of the most grounded and down to earth people I’ve come across. No wonder her dignified grace and poise find reflection in her adorable 4-year-old daughter Pari as well.

Urmi’s blog is a treasure trove of lip-smacking recipes, especially Indian delights and sweet treats. She not just makes beautiful cakes but also painstakingly decorates them with buttercream. But with the turn of the year, I have decided to make as little desserts as possible, which I’m sure is not something I’ll stick to for long. (FYI: I have a Strawberry Almond Crumble baking in the oven as I write this. *wicked smile*). So as always I turned to protein. I’ve been long planning to make Chicken Tandoori,and Urmi’s week in our ongoing event Know Your Blogger served the perfect platform. I made a few alterations to her recipe to suit my palate, but mostly the ingredients were adhered to. I also couldn’t resist myself from adding a semi-generous doze of cheese that I had eyed at my friend and blogger (at Not a Curry) Dhrubaa’s Chicken Tandoori recipe. Obviously I don’t have a tandoor at home and was therefore restricted to making it in my convection oven. The end products came out brilliant nonetheless. True the desired char, that is unflinchingly an attribute rendered by the tandoor, was not there but the soft, juicy, succulent pieces of chicken legs won the day for me.

Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:

Chicken legs and thighs: 6 pieces
Ginger paste: 1 tbsp
Garlic paste: 1.5 tbsp
Lime juice: of 1 lime
Hung yoghurt: 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder: 1.5 tsp
Cumin powder: 2 tsp
Coriander powder: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder: 1 tsp
Chaat masala: 1.5 tsp
Garam masala: 1.5 tsp
Grated cheese/cheese spread: 2-3 tbsp
Salt, to taste
Olive oil: 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Make a few slits in each piece of chicken with a sharp knife. Marinade with all the ingredients and set aside for 3-4 hours to allow the flavours to seep in. I always marinade my chicken overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line the chicken pieces along with half of the marinade on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes on one side. Turn the chicken pieces, baste with a little oil and the remaining marinade and bake for 15-17 minutes.

3. Now on the grill mode, grill the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. Throughout the entire period check doneness frequently as timings differ from oven to oven.

4. Sprinkle some chaat masala for garnish and serve with pudina chutney and onion rings.

I am sending this post to Kolkata Food Bloggers’ event Know Your Blogger