Tandoori chicken

Ba (my husband) has become obsessed with grilling. On the side of our house he has assembled seven grills, and an array of other tools and work surfaces. He is convinced each grill has a unique purpose--direct cooking, indirect cooking, smoking, searing--and I'll take his word for it because his food turns out really good.

The whole setup, which is covered by a slanting clear roof and hanging lights, looks like a street food stand from his native Dehli. Which makes it appropriate that one of his favorite things to cook there is tandoori chicken, perhaps the most quintessential northern Indian street food. 

Ba thinks the tandoori chicken in America is horrible: "They take too many shortcuts." Which basically means they don't marinate overnight. So when you make this recipe, don't skimp on the marinating time or you'll feel his disappointment from afar. He doesn’t like it when people make tandoori chicken with red food coloring, but even his mother does it, so it's good enough for me. You can eat this as is, or use it as the first step on the way to making butter chicken, another hugely popular dish.

For vegetarian options, you can substitute chicken with paneer, which is also delicious.

Tandoor chicken goes so well with squeezed lemon juice and mint chutney.

Tandoori chicken

Serves 6

Marinade chicken overnight

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Ingredients:

2.5 pounds of chicken thigh

First Marinade

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon red chili powder (Kashmiri chili, less spicy one)

1 teaspoon salt

Second Marinade

1 cup greek yogurt

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 teaspoon salt, or rock salt

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon fenugreek leaves

few drops of red coloring or paprika for coloring

After chicken is cooked -

2 teaspoons tandoori masala to sprinkle

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Marination

In a medium-size bowl, put chicken tights and the first marination ingredients (lemon juice, red chili, and salt). Mix them so that the chicken will be marinated evenly. Wrap a bowl and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take out a bowl of chicken from the fridge and add the second marination and mix them so that all the spices will coat the chicken evenly. Wrap a bowl and let it rest in the fridge overnight.

Grilling options

1. Heat up the grill

2. Put the meat on the direct heat side, and keep rotating the meat every minute to avoid sticking to the grate.

3. After 5 minutes, move the meat to the indirect side, and let them cook for 25-30 minutes till it is cooked.

4. Put the probe to check the internal temperature of the meat to be 165 degrees F.

5. Sprinkle tandoori masala over the chicken.

Baking in the oven options

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden, about 25 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F.

3. Sprinkle tandoori masala over the chicken.