Recipe: Tandoori chicken

Tandoori chicken is one of the great roasted meats of the world.  As with the chutney in the last post, the key to a superb tandoori marinade is in the careful blend of flavours and spices.  In this recipe, you have some acidity from the yogurt and lime juice, sweetness from the honey, floral notes from the cilantro, heat from the chili, the coziness of the spice blend, and even a hint of smokiness from the paprika.  A lot going on, I know, but it's all in the balance.  What's missing?  Artificial food colouring, boo, sorry.

In the execution, make sure the chicken gets about 24 hours marination to get all the flavour in possible.  Want to go a couple days?  Sure, even better.  Also, tandoori ovens are insanely hot, so the roasting temperature in a regular oven will be high.  I cooked these at 450F (232C), but as long as you are right by the oven, go as high as you feel comfortable - some colouring on the residual marinade is ideal.  I used 4 chicken breasts here, which are pretty easy to cook through at a high temperature - if you go with some bone in cuts, it will take a little longer in the cooking.

You will need:

4 - 6                       chicken breasts

250ml / 1C            yogurt

1/2                         white onion - grated on a cheese grater (really)

45ml / 3Tbs           lime juice

30ml / 2Tbs           honey

4 cloves                 garlic - minced

small knuckle        ginger - grated on a microplane (about 5ml / 1tsp)

1 handful               whole cilantro - just wash it, don't cut it

15ml / 1Tbs           smoked paprika

5ml / 1tsp              cumin

5ml / 1tsp              coriander

5ml / 1tsp              chili

5ml / 1tsp              ground black pepper

to taste                   kosher salt

Method:

 - trim up the chicken if needed

 - grate the onion and ginger and mince the garlic

 - combine all the ingredients (except for cilantro) for the marinade and mix well (how's that for easy?)

 - toss the chicken in the marinade with the whole cilantro until well coated

 - cover and marinate in the fridge for a day

 - preheat the oven to 450F / 232C - convection if you have it

 - drain excess marinade from the chicken - some residue is ok

 - place chicken on a paper lined pan

 - roast for 7 - 10 minutes until cooked and coloured

 - serve