Best Weeknight Tandoori Chicken Recipes

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Prepare the chicken: Clean the chicken and pat it dry. If using chicken breasts cut them in half. Using a knife, cut deep slits into the chicken.
• Apply wet rub: In a small bowl, mix all the wet rub ingredients together to form a paste. Smear the rub in between the slits and if there is any left over, rub it over the entire chicken breasts.
• Prepare marinade: In a medium size bowl, whisk together all the marinade ingredients. Place the chicken in the bowl with marinade and mix well, making sure each chicken breasts is fully coated.
• Marinate chicken: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple hours.
• Preheat oven and baking sheet: Preheat your oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and over it, place a grill rack.
• Place the chicken breasts over the grill rack leaving a bit of space in between each piece.
• Bake: Bake the chicken for 30 minutes. 15 minutes in, brush some butter over each piece. After the first 30 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over, brush with more butter and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Garnish with lemon slices, parsley and serve.

FAST TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat broiler or grill. Combine yogurt, ginger, garlic, paprika, coriander, half the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Dredge chicken in yogurt mixture and marinate 5 to 60 minutes, as time allows.
• If you're broiling, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. Put chicken breasts on pan, underside facing up; reserve marinade that does not cling to breasts. Broil 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn chicken, and spoon remaining marinade over. Broil on smooth side another 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Garnish, add remaining lime juice over chicken and serve, spooning the cooked marinade over the meat and, if you're serving it, over rice.
• If grilling, cut marinade by half. Cook 3 to 4 minutes a side, until chicken browns and is cooked through, at times brushing with marinade. Garnish, add lime, serve.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pat dry the whole chicken, and then make slits on it.
• Whisk together the yogurt, oil, garlic ginger paste, chile powder, kasuri methi, cardamom if using, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, pepper, food coloring and salt in a bowl to make a smooth paste. Add the chicken and mix it well, making sure that the marinade is coating the chicken and rubbed into the slits.
• Cover the bowl and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
• Preheat a tandoor or grill to the highest heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Grill the chicken until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Smoke the chicken: Put an iron skillet on the high heat, then add the tandoori chicken and immediately pour in the ghee or butter. It will begin to smoke immediately. Serve.

TANDOORI-STYLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• For marinade, combine all ingredients except for chicken, oil and lime wedges in a food processor and purée until smooth.
• With a sharp knife, make several incisions on each chicken piece to help marinade penetrate meat. Transfer chicken to a large glass or ceramic baking dish and pour in marinade, turning chicken pieces to coat. Cover dish with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken pieces from marinade. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan and drizzle with vegetable oil. Roast, basting occasionally, until juices run clear and meat is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely, then wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with lime wedges.

TWICE-COOKED MOCK TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Put chicken in a deep roasting pan.
• Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in the ground spices and cook until just fragrant, no more than a minute. Stir in the yogurt, then spread mixture over chicken. Cover and put in oven; bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. (You can prepare chicken up to a day ahead; if you are not going to grill or broil immediately, put whole pan in refrigerator after it cools down a bit.)
• Light a charcoal or gas grill or heat broiler; rack should be about 4 inches away from heat source. Remove chicken from yogurt sauce, scraping away any excess.
• Grill or broil over direct heat, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp and charred and meat dries out a bit, about 15 minutes total. Serve hot or at room temperature.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• With poultry shears, cut the backbones of the hens. Place the hens, breast side up, on the kitchen counter. Press down on the breast bone with the heel of your palm to flatten. If you are using broiler chickens, split them lengthwise into halves.
• Pull the skin off the hens, using paper towel to get a better grip. Prick the hens all over with a fork or a thin skewer. Make diagonal slashes, a half inch deep and one inch apart, on the meat, along the grain. Make a slit with a paring knife in the meat between the thigh and the breast. Secure the ends of the legs through the slit. Put the hens in a large bowl and set aside.
• Process all the ingredients of the marinade in a blender or food processor until they are liquefied. Pour the marinade over the hens. Mix thoroughly, turning several times to coat the pieces evenly with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight (a maximum of two days) or marinate at room temperature for at least one hour (preferably four).
• Take the hens from the refrigerator at least one hour (maximum, five hours) before cooking.
• Light and prepare a covered charcoal grill until white ash covers the coals and the heat subdues to a moderately hot level. Scatter presoaked grapevine cuttings over the coal. Lightly brush racks with oil.
• Coat the hens lightly with oil and place them, breast side down, on the rack. Barbecue, covered, with the vents open, turning three or four times, without basting, for about 25 minutes - until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife at the joint. Serve the hens garnished with slices of tomato and cucumber.