Finally a great tandoori chicken recipe!

I love it when I get requests for recipes.  It makes me finally put a post on (yes I know it's been a while)! My friend Laura asked me the other day if I have a good recipe for tandoori chicken and I can finally say yes I do! It has taken a while to work this one out. N and I have tried many attempts at every BBQ we've had but it's never right. I think the key thing is making sure you don't use too much yoghurt in the marinade otherwise the flavour gets diluted. And smaller chicken thigh pieces work better than large leg pieces otherwise you will end up with rather bland tasting meat in the centre as the spice won't get all the way through. However the biggest secret for tandoori chicken is to marinate it for as long as possible. 4 hours is a minimum but overnight is preferable. I've tried this recipe a number of times now and it works perfectly every time. Those of you that are particularly observant will notice that the colour of the chicken is a bit less red than the versions you get in restuarants. This is because I have used my own blend of spices rather than a tandoori powder mix, which generally has red food colouring in it. To be honest a tandoori mix would have made my life a lot easier but then where's the fun in that! 

Coming up.... November is National Blog Posting Month and I've set myself quite the challenge. More will be revealed in the next post...

Tandoori Chicken

(Serves 2 | total prep and cooking time approx 1 hour 10 mins + marinating time)

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken thighs 

2 tablespoons natural yoghurt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

Pinch of garam masala

Pinch cayenne pepper

Juice of half a lemon

Method

- place the yoghurt into a large bowl and add all the spices and lemon juice to it.  Stir well. 

- remove any skin from the chicken and prick all over with a knife 

- add the chicken pieces into the marinade and stir so the chicken is evenly covered

- cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight 

- heat the oven to 160 degrees fan

- line a baking tray with foil and place the chicken pieces on it

- cook in the over for approx 35-40 mins or until cooked and the top of the chicken looks crispy. Make sure the chicken does not dry out

- serve with naan bread, salad and cucumber yoghurt