tandoori chicken without the tandoor

One of my favorite Indian dishes is tandoori chicken.  I find that dark meat stays moist under high heat application, and for the sake of convenience, I usually just use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs.  Costco sells packs of them for 99 cents a pound, in sealed packs of four, which is perfect for Jim and me.

The best cooking method I have found goes against tradition, but produces fantastic results.  Instead of marinating the thighs (skin removed and fat trimmed) in the yogurt, I rub them with a spice rub instead, and then just dip them in the yogurt before cooking.  The spice rub for four thighs is 5 cloves of garlic, an inch long knob of ginger, a tablespoon of garam masala, a couple of teaspoon of ground cumin (I grind the whole cumin in the spice grinder -- whole spices = better flavor), and a couple of teaspoons of chili powder.  All of that is sauteed in a bit of oil until fragrant.  About five minutes.

a few minutes in the saute pan can really bring out the flavor of spices

Half of that gets a couple of teaspoons of salt and the juice of half a lime stirred in, then it's rubbed into the skinless chicken -- make a few slashes in the surface to allow the flavors to penetrate.  That needs to sit in the fridge for half an hour, but it can sit in the fridge for several hours without any adverse affects.  Mix the other half of the spice mixture and the juice of the other half of the lime into a cup of yogurt.  Greek yogurt, which is nice and thick, works very well.  Up to you on the full fat vs. low fat.  I prefer the full fat, just because that's the way I am.

Just before it goes on the grill, the chicken gets tossed in the yogurt mixture

Sorry that chicken looks rather disgusting.  It tastes wonderful.  Pull it out of the yogurt, and toss it on the cool side of a 375 grill.  I accomplish this (on a gas grill) by heating the two burners on the left side of the grill full blast, then tossing the chicken on the right side of the grill.  After 15 minutes, turn it.  After ten minutes, reduce the burners to medium, and flip the meat directly over the heat.  Close the lid, and wait about ten minutes.  Flip the meat again, and wait another ten minutes.  The outside should be beautifully charred, and the juices should run clear.  The most reliable test is to poke the largest thigh in the thickest part of the meat and get a reading of about 165.  Once it hits that, take it off the grill, and let it rest for five minutes, while you assemble any sides.  I like to serve my tandoori chicken with rice with peas and mushrooms, garlic naan, and cilantro chutney.

Can I make naan?  Yes.  Do I?  No.  My local grocer sells a marvelous naan, that toasts to crisp/tender perfection with five minutes in the toaster oven, so why not use it?  I do make the cilantro chutney, which consists of a couple of hot chilis, a couple of big fistfuls of cilantro, a teaspoon of salt, and a couple of tablespoons of coconut milk, all tossed in a blender, and blasted with a few pulses.  It makes a delicious sauce for both the chicken and the naan, and the rice for that matter, and the leftovers freeze extremely well.

cilantro chutney

The rice is simply a mixture of sauteed mushrooms, peas barely warmed through, salt, and basmati rice.  The end result is a lovely, spicy, satisfying dinner.

can you believe that all that slop pictured above turned into

this plate of crisp chicken and tasty sides?  Me neither.

But, trust me, it works, and in about an hour.