Best 5 Indian Charred Chicken Recipes

TANDOORI CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• To a mixing bowl, add greek yogurt or hung curd (thick curd). If you do not have it make your own following the notes below.
• Next add in ginger garlic paste, garam masala, red chili powder, salt, turmeric, kasuri methi, pepper powder and coriander powder.
• Pour oil and lemon juice as well.
• Mix everything well. The marinade has to be thick and not of dripping consistency. Taste it and add more salt and chili powder if needed.
• Make deep gashes over the chicken and add it to the bowl.
• Marinate the chicken well into the gashes.
• Cover and set aside for at least 6 hours. If you reduce the marination time, chicken will not turn soft and juicy. It may not get cooked well if making on tawa.
• Preheat the oven to the highest for atleast 15 to 20 mins. In my oven it is 470 F or 240 C. For the stovetop and air fryer method, please follow the step by step instructions above the recipe card.
• Place a foil on a oven tray to collect the drippings.
• Then keep a greased wired rack on the tray.
• Place the chicken pieces over the wire rack.
• Grill the chicken for about 15 mins.
• For spicy version mix together 1 tsp red chili powder with 1 tbsp oil.
• After 15 mins of grillling, baste the red chili oil over the chicken. You can also baste the left over marinade over the chicken.
• Turn the chicken to the other side and baste the red chili oil or marinade.
• Grill for another 6 to 10 mins or until the chicken is cooked through. You will need to adjust the timing as it depends on size of the chicken pieces.
• The last 5 mins, set to broil mode. Alternately you can move the entire tray with wire rack to the top most rack for the last 5 mins. This gives the charred effect.
• Brush the drippings all over the chicken. This keeps the chicken moist. You can also burn a char coal piece and place it in a small cup. Bring out the chicken tray from the oven and place the cup of char coal in the tray. Cover with a large bowl or foil. Allow it to smoke for 5 to 7 mins.
• Restaurant style tandoori chicken is ready. Serve with this Cilantro Chutney or Pudina Mint Chutney alongside onion and lemon wedges.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut deep slashes into chicken, coat with marinade, chill: Cut deep slashes (to the bone) in 3-4 places on the leg/thigh pieces. Just make 2-3 cuts if you are using separate drumsticks and thighs. Coat the chicken in the marinade, cover and chill for at least an hour (preferably 6 hours), no more than 8 hours.
• Prepare grill: Prepare your grill so that one side is quite hot over direct heat, the other side cooler, not over direct heat. If using charcoal, leave one side of the grill without coals, so you have a hot side and a cooler side. If you are using a gas grill, just turn on one-half of the burners. Use tongs to wipe the grill grates with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Steps:

• For the marinade: In a large bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator up to overnight.
• For the sauce: When you're ready to make the curry, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the Ginger-Garlic Paste and serrano peppers. Saute until lightly browned around the edges. Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add the garam masala and the paprika and saute for about 1 minute to draw out their flavors.
• Add the tomatoes, salt, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. You may need more water depending on how much liquid the tomatoes give off.
• Meanwhile, fire up your grill. When it is nice and hot, lightly brush it with oil. Place the chicken on the grill, shaking off some of the excess marinade. Cook until it's charred, about 2 minutes on each side. (Don't worry that the chicken will still be a little uncooked, it finishes cooking in the sauce).
• Pour the sauce into a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender, and process until smooth. Pour back into the skillet and bring back up to a boil. Add the chicken and fenugreek leaves, if using. Take the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the cream and stir through. Garnish with minced fresh cilantro, and serve over rice, with naan, or a crusty piece of bread!
• Throw the garlic, ginger, and canola oil in a mini-food processor and let it go until it forms a semi-smooth paste. There will still be tiny little pieces in there, but overall, it should resemble a paste.
• Save what you don't use in a small glass jar. It should last in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks. It's a delicious addition to marinades, pasta sauces, stir fry sauces, slow-cooker recipes, gravy etc. We always had a jar of this stuff in our fridge growing up.

INDIAN CHARRED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound them with rolling pin or meat mallet to flatten.
• Mix together the curry paste, oil, sugar, ginger and cumin in a small bowl. Spread the mixture over both sides of the chicken and set aside.
• Make the Raita:.
• Peerl the cucumber and scoop out any seeds with a spoon. Grate the cucumber flesh, sprinkle with salt, place in a strainer and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
• Rinse off the salt and squeeze out any excess moisture by pressing the cucumber with the back of a spoon.
• Mix the cucumber with the yogurt and stir in the chili powder.
• Chill.
• Back to the chicken:.
• Transfer the chicken to an oiled rack and grill for 10 minutes, turning once.
• Serve chicken with the Raita and some naan bread.

BHATTI DA MURGH (INDIAN GRILLED CHICKEN WITH WHOLE SPICES)

Steps:

• Pop the joint on each leg: Grasp a drumstick in one hand and a thigh in the other, and bend the joint back until you hear a crack. This helps the leg cook more evenly.
• Using a small knife, make a slash in the meaty part of each drumstick and thigh twice or three times, going all the way to the bone.
• In a large bowl, stir together garlic, ginger, vinegar, cayenne, garam masala and salt. Keep half the mixture in the bowl and set aside; rub remaining mixture all over chicken, getting underneath the skin. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours) while you prepare the yogurt marinade.
• Stir yogurt into the large bowl with ginger-garlic mixture, then stir in black pepper, clove, mace, anise, black cardamom (if using) and green cardamom. Transfer spice-rubbed chicken to yogurt mixture, tossing gently to coat.
• Cover and refrigerate chicken for at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight.
• When ready to cook, prepare the grill for indirect heat. (If using a charcoal grill, mound coals to one side, allowing for an area of indirect heat. If using a gas grill, turn on only a few of the burners and leave the rest off.) Or heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Using a mortar and pestle, the flat side of a knife or a spice grinder for a very brief time, crack the cumin, coriander and red-pepper flakes but do not grind; you want a coarse texture here. Sprinkle spice mix onto chicken to coat each piece.
• Place a rimmed baking sheet on the unlit side of the grill or in the oven and let heat for 15 minutes. Carefully place chicken on the hot baking sheet and drizzle each piece with a little melted butter. Cover grill, if grilling. Let chicken cook for 25 to 35 minutes, drizzling with melted butter two or three times. The chicken is done when the skin is dark brown and the juices run clear when pricked with a knife.
• If you are grilling, you can sear the chicken over direct heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side just before serving to char the skin, but this is optional. Serve chicken on a platter, with lime wedges on the side.