Chicken Tikka (Tandoori)
 

The first time I had chicken this way I was deployed to Bahrain (15-16 years ago). I fell in love with it but didn't know how to prepare it. Everyone called it Chicken Tikka over there. Thanks to the internet and some Indian restaurants I figured out that people call it Tandoori.

Anyway I have been making this for a while and prepare it similar to what Moose has posted in the past except I use lime (I like citrus and use quite a bit more than he does) and a pre-made tandoori mix.


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about halfway done

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after the reverse sear and pulled them at 170 to 180

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and a bonus corned beef that the wife found on sale to I decided to smoke it yesterday.

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soaked it and drained it 5 or 6 times. I see why people do this it was still a little salty not bad but I can only imagine if you didn't

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cooked it hot n fast, tasted really good.

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I love this stuff! A Tandor is a type of clay (i think) oven that are super-heated. The chicken then goes in on skewers, having been marinaded. I've seen some online shops in the UK selling them. If you ever had the Naan bread that it's often served with - these are slapped onto the ot sides of the oven with a spong that pushes them into shape quickly, before the chefs hands are roasted and then later peeled off. I've done a few batches of chicken tika skewers on the grill before, that i then use in pther curry recipes, as the marinated chicken and grilled taste works really well.

Yours look great - nice one!

Does anyone know how to get the chicken to come out red? I noticed that some tandoori recipes use a dye... I'm not interested in that.

Thank you! That's good to know. I knew that a tandoori oven gets pretty hot like 700+. I just tried to get my Weber as hot as I could (and still have room for the meat).

Unfortunately, I think that red food colouring is the main ingredient in a lot of the Tandoori mixes, whether commercial or in a restaurant.

Yeah I figured as much. Oh well it still tastes great even though its not that red.

Language changes as usage changes, but originally Tandoori chicken was whole chicken spiced in a yogurt sauce and roasted in a tandoor, and when it was served as individual pieces with a tomato and cream sauce, that British classic, it was called Chicken Tikka masala.
I bet it was delish!

Awesome looking chicken! Trust me you're not missing anything by not adding the red color. If you search the forum for "UDT" or "tandoor" you should find a couple of cooks I did in my homebrewed tandoor (the UDT).

One of my favourite dishes ever, especially as it is Britains number one dish now. We even entered this for our 'cooking from the homeland' dish at last years 'Jack Daniels' and it came 6th.

Any chance you'd be willing to part with your recipe? I've never tried it, but from all the responses it sounds like I need to, lol.

Looks fantastic!

KC

Thanks I suggest using Moose's recipe if you want t make it from scratch.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...t=87144&page=2

When I don't want to work I use yogurt, Lime, and a Tandoori mix from Penzey's Spice. I use about 3 times the Lime as he does Lemon but I REALLY love the citrus in this dish!

That looks great! I love chicken tikka-so many layers of flavor, and with the recipe I've used, it turns out so tender that it almost melts in your mouth like cotton candy. You can make good naan bread right on the grill, too-you don't have to have a tandoor for it to taste good.

Thanks Gnaws! would you mind sharing your recipe :-P???

Yes Share all your recipes, those above look magnificent

I remember lots of issues about the red food colouring used in Chicken Tandori in London. There were fairly regular scandals involving low-quality chicken dipped in flavouring and colouring and basically just grilled - the red was damn-near toxic and stained everything it came into contact with. My childhood memories from the late 70's and early 80's of Tandoori take-aways (a family treat) where of brightly coloured chicken chunks - delicous, but staining teeth, mouth and just about everything else! As time went by, and the British consumer became more discerning, those bright-reds seemed to be less common. From Wikepedia it says:
Cayenne pepper, red chili powder or kashmiri red chili powder is used to give it a fiery red hue in the original version. A higher amount of turmeric produces an orange color. In milder versions, both red and yellow food coloring could sometimes be used to achieve bright colors, however turmeric powder is both mild and brightly colored, as is paprika, a sweet red pepper powder

If it tastes to your liking - forget the colour. Yours looked good!!

I find it's well worth the extra few minutes to make your tandoori marinade from scratch as the flavor of fresh spices is unbeatable.

Also, tandoori style wings are super delish!

Fantastic looking chicken!