Philly Eats Magazine Second Edition 2017

In the United States, tandoori
chicken began appearing on
menus in the 1960s as air travel
became more common and people
started traveling to India. Supposedly
Jackie Kennedy was reported
to have eaten “chicken tandoori” on a
flight from Rome to Bombay in 1962
and loved it. In the 60’s if Jackie Kennedy
ate it, it had to be amazing.
Tandoori Chicken can be used
as an appetizer or as a main course
and because of the spice it is recommended
to eat with a bread around if
you are not used to eating spicy food.
Originally and authentically Tandoori
chicken is cooked in a clay oven at
a super high temperature but since
most of us don’t have that laying
around we will go a different direction
and grill them for our purposes.
You can use chicken breasts or
thighs, bone-in or boneless. I prefer
boneless because they lie flat against
the grill and are easier to eat. Remove
the skin to let the marinade soak in.
Trim the chicken of most of its fat if
you want, but do leave a little: it’s vital
for moistness and flavor.
Grilling tandoori isn’t hard, but
there are some essentials for moist,
juicy chicken.
Serve it with some White rice and
a Raita which is a real simple cucumber
salad with a little bit of a kick.
GRILLED TANDOORI
CHICKEN RECIPE
Prep Time: 30 minutes plus marinating
time
Cook Time: Depending on your
chicken
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Serving Size: 4
INGREDIENTS
Marinade
3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled
and chopped
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 12-ounce bone-in chicken legthigh
quarters, skinned
Raita
3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
3/4 cup cucumber, chopped and
seeded
2 tablespoons fresh mint,
chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
DIRECTIONS
For the marinade:
1. Place first 10 ingredients in a
blender; process until smooth.
2. Pour into a large zip-top plastic
bag.
3. Add chicken; turn to coat.
4. Marinate chicken in refrigerator at
least 4 hours or overnight.
For the raita:
1. Combine 3/4 cup yogurt and next
4 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon
salt) in a small bowl.
2. Cover and refrigerate.
For tandoori chicken:
1. Remove chicken from refrigerator,
and let stand at room temperature
45 minutes.
2. Prepare grill for low heat grilling. If
using a gas grill, medium to low heat
depending on your grill. If using a
charcoal grill, arrange hot coals on
either side of charcoal grate, leaving
an empty space in the middle.
3. Remove chicken from marinade,
and discard remaining marinade.
4. Place chicken on unheated part
of grill rack coated with cooking
spray you don’t want to cook off
the marinade this is a slower cooking
meal. Should be about 7 minutes
a side for chicken breasts.
5. Serve 1 chicken quarter each with
about 1/3 cup of raita.
6. You could Garnish with a little Cilantro
if you want to as well.
July 2017 Philly Eats Magazine 47