Tandoori Chicken

Name: Tandoori Chicken
Total time: 540 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 3 lb chicken (legs and thighs, bone-in, skin removed); 2 unit lime (juice, divided); 2 tsp salt; 1 cup yogurt (whole-milk, thick); 2 tbsp ginger (grated); 6 clove garlic (grated); 2 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder; 2 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp turmeric (ground); 1 tsp cumin (ground); 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 tbsp butter (melted, for basting); 1 unit onion (red, thin rings, raw); ⅓ cup cilantro (leaves)

Seafood & Poultry · South Asian

14 ingredients · 540 minutes · 4 servings

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726kcal71.6g protein43.7g fat11.2g carbs~$2.99/ serving*

Contains dairy · only in an optional ingredient: gluten

Restrictions

ContainsdairyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.

Only if you add itgluten (flour)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.

Diets

No porkNo alcohol

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

3 lb	chicken (legs and thighs, bone-in, skin removed)
2 unit	lime (juice, divided)
2 tsp	salt
1 cup	yogurt (whole-milk, thick)
2 tbsp	ginger (grated)
6 clove	garlic (grated)
2 tbsp	Kashmiri chili powder
2 tsp	garam masala
1 tsp	turmeric (ground)
1 tsp	cumin (ground)
2 tbsp	vegetable oil
2 tbsp	butter (melted, for basting)
1 unit	onion (red, thin rings, raw)
⅓ cup	cilantro (leaves)

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

1 cup

naan (from the catalog, warm)

Steps

Score8 min
skinless pieces, slashed to the bone
two or three deep cuts across each piece — the slashes are the tandoor adaptation's first half: marinade reaches the bone, heat cooks the thick pieces evenly, and the charred ridges that form along each cut are the dish's signature texture
Marinate20 min
stage one: half the lime + all the salt
- lime
- yogurt
rubbed into the slashes and rested while stage two mixes — the acid-salt first pass seasons deep and firms the surface so the yogurt coat clings instead of sliding
Marinate480 min
stage two: spiced yogurt, 8 hours to overnight
yogurt + ginger + garlic + Kashmiri chili + garam masala + turmeric + cumin + oil + remaining lime, massaged into every slash — the yogurt is the tenderizer of record here: its lactic acid works slower and gentler than citrus, which is why overnight improves this marinade where it would wreck a ceviche
Broil22 min
highest rack, on a wire rack over a sheet, turned once
the pieces shaken of excess marinade, broiled ~10 minutes a side until blackened in spots and 185°F at the bone — the broiler is the upside-down tandoor: ferocious direct heat while the rack keeps the pieces out of their own drippings; the char spots are not burning, they are the point
Glaze3 min
melted butter brushed on, one last minute under the flame
the butter baste in the final minute — the restaurant gloss, and the fat carries the spice crust's aroma; served over raw red onion rings with cilantro and lime, which is not decoration but the traditional acid-crunch counterpoint