Snacks & street food · Punjab

Tandoori Chicken

Chicken legs slashed, marinated twice in lemon, chilli and spiced yogurt, then roasted hot until charred at the edges and juicy inside.

Prep 20 min · Cook 35 min · Total 55 min + 4 hr marinade · Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken and first marinade

• 1 kg Chicken legs, skinless
• 2 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 ½ tsp Salt

Second marinade

• ½ cup Hung curd or thick Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• ¼ tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 2 tbsp Mustard oil

To finish

• 1 tbsp Butter, melted
• 1 tsp Chaat masala
• 1 Onion, in thin rings
• 1 Lemon, in wedges

Method

1. Slash and season. Cut deep slashes into the chicken, down to the bone, two or three on each piece. Rub in the lemon juice, chilli powder and salt and set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Second marinade. Heat the mustard oil until it smokes, cool for a minute, and whisk it into the hung curd with the ginger-garlic paste, spices and crushed kasuri methi. Coat the chicken, working the marinade into the cuts. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
3. Roast. Heat the oven to 240°C (or its highest setting). Set the chicken on a rack over a foil-lined tray and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until cooked through (75°C at the bone).
4. Char. Brush with the melted butter and put under a hot grill for 3 to 5 minutes until blackened at the edges.
5. Serve. Sprinkle with chaat masala and serve straight away with onion rings, lemon wedges and green chutney.

Tips

Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before roasting, and don't crowd the rack; the pieces need hot air all round to char instead of steam.