Fast Chicken Tandoori

Day 100: “The Minimalist Cooks Dinner”

April 10, 2011

Traditionally Tandoori chicken is baked in a clay oven and the restaurants that I have found it in tend to be Indian in origin. The chicken is full of flavor and tender and is often bright in color. I have later found out that some of this color is from food dye and not from spices. So making it at home you can control the color….and the food dye! I always thought since I didn’t have a clay oven, that I couldn’t make this dish at home. But forget the clay oven, if you have a grill you will have success with this dish.

Mark Bitman writes a weekly column for the “New York Times” on minimalist cooking. Minimalist cooking really is about good flavor fast.  If you are a gourmet on limited time, Mark Bitman is a good person to follow and get tips from. We are all rushed to get dinner to the table and the idea of pulling fresh ingredients together instead of things from a can or boxed or frozen meals is really appealing. I think the recipe for Roast Salmon Steaks with Pinot Noir Syrup sounds delicious! I like the fact that the recipes in this cookbook don’t have a huge list of ingredients. Each recipe come with a wine pairing and sides to serve with the meal. Part of being a minimalist is few ingredients that are big on flavor!

The Ruling: Now that I said the above sentence about big on flavor, this recipe was lacking in some spice. I think it is because we are used to tandoori chicken in our local Indian restaurant. But I think a sprinkle of red pepper flakes would cure this easy enough. Everyone in the family ate this chicken! Hurrah! Easy to make and easy to get dinner on the table! Winner! I just ordered some flexible skewers and I am going to try this recipe again with cubes of chicken skewed and grilled with some veggies like zucchini and red pepper on it. I would double the sauce and pull half aside and place some of the sauce on the cooked chicken after it is grilled.

Fast Chicken Tandoori, page 120

Ingredients:  

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon medium to hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• juice of one lime
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• minced fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler, start a hot charcoal or wood fire, or preheat a gas grill to the maximum. Set the rack 2 to 4 inches from the heat source. Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, paprika, half the lime juice, and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir the chicken into the yogurt mixture and marinate for 5 to 60 minutes, as time allows.
2. TO BROIL THE CHICKEN: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil to facilitate cleanup. To broil, put the chicken breasts on the baking sheet, bone, rough side up; reserve any marinade that does not cling to the breasts. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn and spoon the remaining marinade over the chicken. Broil on the skin (smooth) side for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. TO GRILL: Simply grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until the chicken brown and is cooked through, brushing with the marinade from time to time.
3. Garnish with cilantro and serve, spooning the basting juices over the chicken.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

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