For the Love of Food

The other day I came across the Food Wishes Video Recipe Blog. I could have just spent hours there watching Chef John prepare all these exotic yet simple dishes. One that particularly caught my attention was his Tandoori Chicken – the busy (lazy?) American Version. I don’t like thinking of it as a “lazy” version, but rather a version for those with limited cooking supplies. I took it one step further since I don’t a grill either and broiled it in my oven. I’ve never had the original version, so I can’t compare, but it was so good, that I plan on making it over and over again. I even have plans to make it for my birthday get-together.

Here is my version of Chef John’s recipe for Tandoori Chicken:
2 Lbs of Chicken legs & thighs (bone in and skin on)
1 1/2 Tablespoons of plain Yogurt
the juice of 1/2 a lemon (I was out of lime that day!)
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 a teaspoon of Pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Tandoori Masala Mix (mine was from NGR Products and contains: Coriander, Cumin, Black Pepper, Chili, Bay Leaf, Ginger, Fenugreek, Mustard, Salt, Garlic, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Onion, Cloves, Mace, Citric Acid, and colors E-124&E-102 to give it that unnatural red look…next time I will try to find one without added coloring!)
a few Green Onions – optional
cooking oil in spray form

Directions:
Place the chicken legs and thighs in a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and then use a wooden spoon to combine them until all the chicken is coated.
Place the chicken in a bag to marinade in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

While you preheat the oven to broil (grill), let the chicken sit on the counter top. Make sure you have a wire rack at the highest level in your oven. Once the oven has reached full temperature, remove the wire rack with an oven mitt, close the oven, hold it away from you, and spray the rack with cooking oil. For those you don’t have a cooking oil sprayer, you can get one here, or you can probably achieve the same (yet messier) affect by brushing the oil on the rack with a brush.
Return the rack to the top location in your oven and place the chicken on it. Broil for 10 minutes, then turn, and broil for another 10 minutes.
Layer on some green onions, let them grill for 2-3 minutes, then turn them and grill another 2 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oven and serve.

I was really surprised just how tender and BBQ-like this chicken came out. I can’t wait to try this out on chicken wings! Thanks Chef John!

Check out Chef John’s YouTube video here:

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