Grilled Tandoori Chicken

By ruthg

Serves 8
Suneeta Vaswani, a chef, cooking instructor, and cookbook author who lives in Houston, has been cursed with many picky eaters: first her eldest son, and now three of her four grandchildren. But even relatively adventurous young palates may find Indian cuisine overwhelming. This mild tandoori chicken is an excellent introduction to Indian flavors, and when it is prepared on a charcoal grill, it is a familiar and often communal experience.

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 16 skinless chicken thighs, or 8 skinless leg quarters (for grilling, leg quarters are preferable)
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• Juice of 2 limes or lemons
• 1 tablespoon peeled, pureed or finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon pureed or finely chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
• Few drops each red and yellow food dye (optional)
• 2 lemons, halved
• 1 onion, sliced into rings, for garnish
• Lemon wedges for garnish

Details

Adapted from grandparents.com

Preparation

Step 1

Directions:
1. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut a few long diagonal slits into each chicken piece, cutting deeply but not quite to the bone.

2. In a very large bowl, stir together the yogurt, juice, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, garam masala, cayenne, and salt. If using food dye, mix in enough to make the mixture orange. Add the chicken, turning to coat each piece and making sure the marinade goes into all the slits. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. or prepare a charcoal or gas grill. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it in a shallow baking pan lined with foil. Discard any remaining marinade. If baking, place in the oven and bake. If grilling, rub the grill grate with oil and place the chicken on the grate and cook, turning about every 10 minutes. The chicken pieces are done when the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced at the thickest point, about 45 minutes for baking, 40 minutes for grilling.
4. Transfer the chicken to a heated platter and squeeze the lemon halves over the top. Garnish the platter with the onion rings and lemon wedges and serve.