Tandoori Chicken Thighs

 

I wanted to try my hand at Tandoori Chicken but didn’t want to mix my own tandoori masala (I have most but not all of the spices and didn’t want to buy more spices). I had purchased tandoori masala for Chicken Balti, so this was convenient. 

Tandoori Chicken in restaurants are usually red in color because of coloring. I didn’t use any coloring.

Since I don’t have a tandoori oven (obviously) or an outdoor grill, and I didn’t want to fire up the oven, I grilled the chicken over the stove on a grill pan.

• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2”fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice from half a lemon
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tblsp tandoori masala
• 1 tblsp chili pepper powder
• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• lemon wedges

1. Pat dry chicken with paper towels and make 3 to 4 deep slits each.
2. Roughly chop garlic and ginger and grind with salt and lemon juice to a paste.
3. In a large zip top bag, mix yogurt, ginger garlic paste, tandoori masala, and chili pepper powder.
4. Add chicken to the marinade and coat thoroughly. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Remove chicken from the fridge and let rest for 10 minutes. Take the chicken out of the marinade and blot off excess marinade.
6. Heat a liberally-oiled grill pan over high heat.
7. Grill the chicken presentation side up for 7 minutes. Turn and repeat.
8. Remove from the grill pan and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges before serving.