Ingredients
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- For the Chicken marinade:
- 9 oz. hung whole milk yogurt (put the yogurt into cheesecloth and hang overnight suspended over a bowl to catch the liquid, discard liquid)
- 2 Tbsp. ginger garlic paste
- 2 Tbsp. Sattu or roasted Gram flour
- 1 tsp. Tandoori Masala (recipe below)
- 1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
- 4 Tbsp. Australian Gold culinary-grade Mustard oil (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE)
- a few drops of red food coloring (optional but gives the classic color)
- Kosher salt to taste
- 2 1/4 lb. Chicken - use skinless legs, thighs etc. - each piece slashed deeply to the bone in several places
- ***
- For the Tandoori Masala:
- 1/2 cup mild long red Kashmiri chilies
- 1/4 cup whole coriander seeds (preferably football-shaped seeds from India)
- 1/2 Tbsp. whole wild cumin seeds (TFD change, original was regular cumin)
- 1/2 Tbsp. whole cumin seeds
- 1/2 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns (TFD prefers Tellicherry)
- 1/2 Tbsp. whole cloves
- 1/2 Tbsp. green cardamom seeds, remove papery skins
- 1 black cardamom seed, remove papery skins (TFD optional but recommended change)
- 1 tsp. whole fenugreek seeds
- Two 2" sticks Ceylon cinnamon bark (do NOT use regular cinnamon!) (TFD change, original was three)
- 1/2 tsp. ajwain seeds (TFD optional addition, omit for original)
- 1/2 tsp. Kalonji seeds (TFD optional addition, omit for original)
- 1 tsp. dried ground ginger
- 1 tsp. dried garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp. freshly-grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. smoked paprika (TFD change, original was sweet paprika)
- 1 tsp. bay leaf powder (optional TFD change, omit for original)
- 2 points star anise (optional TFD change, omit for original)
- ***
- For the Kabab Masala:
- 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
- 8 lightly-toasted Kashmiri chilies
- 1 tsp. roasted coriander seeds (preferably the football-shaped Indian variety)
- 1 Tbsp. Gram flour
- 2 tsp. Tandoori Masala powder
- 1 tsp. chipotle powder (TFD optional change, replace with cayenne for original)
- 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground roasted white peppercorn powder (TFD optional change, replace with black peppercorn powder for original)
- ***
- Garnish:
- melted butter or ghee mixed with a pinch of black salt, a pinch of yellow chili powder, and a pinch of freshly-ground roasted fenugreek seeds
- parsley or cilantro sprigs
- fresh lime wedges
- rings of purple onion
Instructions
- For the chicken marination:
- Start of by mixing every ingredient (except the mustard oil) for the marinade and the masala mix in a large bowl. Mix together completely.
- Heat the mustard oil until smoky and pour this smoky hot oil into the marinade. Mix together, let cool slightly and rub this all over the chicken pieces. Make sure that you have made deep gashes on the chicken pieces for the marination to seep deep into the meat. Allow it to marinate overnight in the fridge.
- For the Tandoori masala:
- Toss together the whole seed ingredients, one by one, in a hot, heavy pan, for between 30 seconds – 1 minute, until each of the spices smell strongly. Remove to a bowl and let cool completely.
- Transfer to a powerful blender, and add the remaining ground spices. Blend to a smooth powder. Transfer to a clean, fairly airtight spice jar, and store in a cool dark place. This recipe makes approximately 1 cup of tandoori masala.
- For the Kabab masala:
- Toast cumin, coriander seeds, and whole red chilies in a pan until the spices become fragrant. Make sure to use low heat for this process. Then, roast the besan on low heat until slightly browned and aromatic.
- Add all whole spices to the spice grinder jar. Grind the spices to create a fine powder. Mix with powdered spices and store tightly-sealed.
- To make the chicken:
- On the next day, fire up your charcoal grill to medium-high heat and dust the chicken with the kabab masala mix.
- Place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes per side. The chicken should be cooked through and browned and charred in places on the outside. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should be 160ºF.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and let stand for about 5 minutes before serving. Post cooking, brush your finished meat with the melted butter and spices.
- Garnish with parsley or cilantro sprigs, lime wedges and purple onion rings on the side and serve immediately. Enjoy with pulao or naan and serve with extra tandoori masala for each guest to add as needed.