Tandoori Murgh

Marination #1

1. Depending on what chicken cut you are using make some slits to allow the chicken to better tenderise and allow more of the marinade to soak into the meat.

• Breast & thigh – shallow cuts 5mm

• Leg or Maryland – deep cut 1cm

2. In a large enough bowl for your chicken squeeze the fresh lemon and lime juice.

3. Add the fresh finely grated ginger and garlic along with paprika and salt.

4. Mix until the contents are fully combined.

5. Piece by piece rub the marinade over the chicken pieces ensuring the marinade is rubbed into the slits.

6. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Marination #2

• Create an optional garam masala.

• Create optional hung yoghurt

NOTE: hung yoghurt is quite laterally yoghurt placed in a fine mesh sieve and suspended (hung) to allow the excess moisture of the yoghurt to drip out. This created a thicker yoghurt that will stick to the chicken more effectively.

1. Toast optional fenugreek (methi) so you can grind to a powder.

NOTE: (fenugreek leaves can have a little moisture, toasting them will allow you to grind)

1.1 Place ground fenugreek to the side ready to add later.

2. Add oil to a pan to bloom the Kashmiri chilli powder for 5 minutes.

NOTE: this will amplify the taste and create a rich red colour.

3. Add Kashmiri paste to a small bowl and mix to combine the...

• Salt

• Turmeric

• Cumin & coriander powder

• Garam masala & chaat masala

• Optional fenugreek (methi)

NOTE: if you aren’t smoking the chicken add some smoked paprika for the smoky flavour

4. Add hung yoghurt and mix to thoroughly combine

5. Add to the 1st marination bowl and mix with the left-over ingredients.

6. Rub the 2nd marinade over the chicken ensuring every crevasse in covered.

7. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight or at least 1 hr.

Optional Smoking Step

Smoke the chicken with a portable smoker (featured in the video tutorial), BBQ smoker or dhungar.

If you are unable to physically smoke the chicken, you would have added some smoked paprika at the marination stage.

To smoke - place the chicken with the marinade on a wire rack to provide a little height to allow the smoke to penetrate all angles of the chicken and smoke for at least 15 minutes.

NOTE: any longer and you risk bacteria growth as the chicken will start to reach an unsafe temperature.

8. Place the smoked chicken in the oven on the wire rack at 200c / 390f or onto a BBQ grill place to allow the flames to reach on high to allow to char.

9. Check the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 74c / 165f

NOTE: if the char is to your liking but the internal temperature has not been achieved reduce the heat 

slightly, so the chicken doesn’t burn and dry.

10, Serve the chicken immediately from the oven or grill for optimal juiciness along some common parings such as butter chicken, naan and mint chutney.

bhojan kaa aanand lijiye

(enjoy the food)

Expert Tip:

Put leftover tandoori chicken into a makhani (butter) sauce to keep moist. That was the original intention of the butter chicken sauce.