Tandoori Chicken Recipe

Micah and I both love Indian food, especially chicken. This recipe is easy to make and pretty inexpensive if you already own these spices. It’s one of the most delicious new recipes I’ve found in a while. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare, requires at least 2 hours of marinating time, and takes 25-35 minutes to cook. You also need space for the marinating chicken to chill in your refrigerator. Your best bet is probably preparing it in the early afternoon and then popping it in about 45 minutes before dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch ground cloves
• 4 skinned chicken thighs (boneless or boned)

Also be sure you have aluminum foil and a wire rack. I’m grateful we have some neighbors whom I know from church, because I was able to borrow some foil from them. I didn’t read well enough ahead.

Steps

1. Stir together yogurt, garlic, and onion in a dish large enough to hold 4 pieces of chicken. Add everything except the chicken and stir until thoroughly blended. Then add the chicken and coat well. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for minimum of 2 hours and possibly overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 500F (this mimics the tandoori clay oven). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat wire rack with cooking spray (or use a nonstick one) and set it over baking sheet. Place chicken on the rack.
3. Bake chicken until no trace of pink in the center. Serve hot.

I served it over brown rice which was cooked with 1/4 tsp cumin and 1 tsp chicken bullion. For a side, I made cooked broccoli with a couple cloves, a pinch of curry, and a small piece of cinnamon bark. Turned out really well!

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