‹ The Fire 50 › Cook it at home

The Fire 50 · cook it at home

Tandoori chicken in a home oven (or on the grill)

1 hr plus 4 hr to overnight marinating · 4 people

A clay tandoor runs hotter than any home oven, so the trick is a two-stage marinade, a very hot oven or grill, and a final blast to char the edges. Bone-in legs stay juicy.

Save it and it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place, what you already have and a shopping list.

The real one

You need

• 1.2 kg (2 1/2 lb) bone-in chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks), skin removed
• First marinade: 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• Second marinade: 200 g (3/4 cup) thick Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (for color)
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp mustard oil or neutral oil
• 2 tbsp melted butter or ghee, for basting
• To serve: sliced red onion, lemon wedges, mint chutney, naan

How to make it

1. Score and first marinade (10 min, plus 20 min): Cut 2 or 3 deep slashes into each piece down to the bone. Rub with the lemon juice, salt and chili and leave 20 minutes.
2. Second marinade (10 min, plus 4 hr to overnight): Mix the yogurt with the ginger, garlic, spices and oil. Coat the chicken, working it into the cuts. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
3. Heat (20 min): Heat the oven to its highest setting, 250 to 260°C (480 to 500°F), with a rack set over a foil-lined sheet pan. Or build a hot charcoal fire.
4. Cook (25 to 30 min): Shake off excess marinade and set the chicken on the rack. Roast 15 minutes, turn, baste with butter, and roast 10 to 15 minutes more, until it reads 75°C (165°F) by the bone. On the grill, 20 to 25 minutes over medium-hot coals, turning every 5 minutes.
5. Char and serve (3 min): Switch to the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, or move to the hottest part of the grill, until the edges blacken in spots. Baste again and serve with onions, lemon, chutney and naan.

Tips

• Kashmiri chili gives the red color without too much heat.
• Thick yogurt clings; thin yogurt slides off and steams.
• Bukhara's black dal is the other half of the meal: simmer whole urad dal with butter and tomato for hours.

Chef Amazing's own home version of tandoori chicken, in our words; not any restaurant's recipe.