The Perfect Ten-doori

I absolutely love Indian food. One dish in particular, tandoori chicken, is a must-order every time. I had some spare buttermilk after I made chocolate cupcakes and decided that what better way to use up the leftovers than to make tandoori chicken? Technically, you're suppose to use yogurt, but if buttermilk is good enough for fried chicken, it should be a suitable substitute! In this frigid weather, nothing like a mouthful of spiciness to ward off the chills.

Recipe
2 pounds chicken breast
1 lemon
1 red onion
1 green pepper
2 inch segment of ginger
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cayenne powder (optional)
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons garam masala
salt and pepper to taste

I tried making tandoori chicken around two years back. The recipe said to combine the spices with the yogurt first and then smearing the mix onto the chicken. The result was bland and barely had any flavor. This time around, I resolve to avoid that mistake by seasoning the chicken first before pouring on the yogurt.


First, soak the wooden skewers in some water. It prevents the sticks from burning on the grill and (supposedly) helps the chicken stay moist during cooking. In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients (garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, turmeric, garam masala, salt and pepper) together. Zest and juice the lemon, set aside. Using a micro-plank, grate the ginger. If you don't want to go through this extra step, substitute 1 tablespoon of ginger powder. Cut half an onion into thin slices. Cube the chicken into large chunks, or if so desire, long strips. The idea behind cutting the chicken into long strips is that it requires less cooking time, so there's less likelihood of overcooking the chicken. Because let's face it, overcooked chicken sucks! 

Pour the grated ginger, onion slices, lemon zest and juice over the chicken and mix well. Next, add the spice mix and massage into the meat. You'll need to get down and dirty and use your hands for that. A bit of warning, though -- turmeric really stains so use a pair of gloves. My nails were yellow for at least three days every time I touch the stuff. When the spices are well incorporated, pour the yogurt, or in my case, buttermilk, over the meat. Marinate at least 3-4 hours, best overnight.

Such a colorful mix!

Swimming in happiness

To assemble, cut the remaining half of the onion into large pieces and do the same for the bell peppers. If you cut the chicken into chunks, skewer the chicken pieces, alternating with the veggies in between. If you decided to use chicken slices, thread the skewer through the center of the chicken pieces like sewing with a needle. 

Veggies keep the chicken moist

Ready for the grill

My boyfriend has a gas grill so we cooked the suckers over a real fire instead of in the oven. You can also cook this in the oven, charcoal grill or on a George Foreman type of electric grill. The cooking time and temperature varies depending on the cooking instrument so I'll leave it up to the reader (I always wanted to say that!) to determine the best method. Do save some of the marinade to brush over the meat as it cooks to ensure the chicken stays moist. Best wishes on not burning the chicken or, worse yet, scorch your eyebrow!

Roasting over an open fire

Ready to eat!

Reflection
I was quite pleased with how the chicken turned out. My last tandoori chicken debacle still haunted me and it was good to excise my culinary demons. I handed the torch (literally) to Orin to grill the chicken, which was the toughest part. He was able to grill the puppies to perfection -- a little under and it's a salmonella scare (think Bridesmaids); a little over and it's rubber chicken city. Feel free to try out the recipe on lamb or beef, too!