Tandoori chicken tastes great with everything! It can be tossed in a salad, stuffed in pita or dipped in cucumber raita. ‘Chief Eating Officer’ at Dolly Mumma, Perzen Patel, shares her recipe.
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 250g plain yoghurt
- 1/2 bottle Dolly Mumma Tandoori Paste
- 1kg boneless chicken thighs
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 tbsp ghee (to grease baking tray)
- Finely chopped coriander
- Salt to taste
FOR CUCUMBER RAITA:
- 1 Cucumber
- 200g yoghurt
- 1/2 tsp cumin-coriander powder
- Salt to taste
- Optional: Fried garlic
Marinate the chicken overnight in yoghurt, tandoori paste, lemon juice and salt. If you like your chicken spicy, add more Tandoori paste. Marinating meat in yoghurt will tenderize it and make your Tandoori Chicken oh-so-tender. Cover and refrigerate.
In the morning, remove the marinated meat from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. This is important so that the yoghurt on the meat doesn’t curdle from sudden temperature change.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. If you can find a perforated baking tray with a drip tray below it, use that for your chicken. If not, any baking tray will do. Grease with ghee.
Place all your chicken thighs flat on the tray and bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until they are just cooked. I like to use a thermometer and remove my chicken as soon as it reaches 75-78 celsius to ensure it doesn’t overcook.
While the chicken is cooking, cut the cucumber into rough squares.
In a bowl, whisk the yoghurt until smooth. Sprinkle in the cumin-coriander powder and salt. Mix everything together to make your raita dressing. Now, add in the cucumber. Garnish with fried garlic.
When the chicken is cooked, remove onto a serving tray and garnish with coriander. Serve with cucumber raita.
