Grillin' it up, Tandoori style...

    Since I had my Tandoori Masala prepared, and the weather was nice enough for a BBQ, I made Tandoori Chicken.
    Tandoori Chicken is a super popular Indian/Pakistani dish. It is traditionally prepared at high temperatures in a tandoor or clay oven (all I had at my disposal was the good old propane grill in my backyard. Which worked great by the way). It's marinaded in Tandoori Masala, a curd of some sort (commonly plain yogurt or sour cream), as well as lemon juice, fresh cilantro leaves and some salt and pepper. Cayenne pepper or red chili powder are used to give it the traditional red hue.
    I didn't add the cayenne pepper because I was sharing with my little guy, and his delicate palate couldn't handle something that spicy. So my chicken doesn't have the "blood red" color commonly associated with Tandoori Chicken, but it still has all of the flavor.....or most of it anyway.


Tandoori Chicken:

Fresh from the grill...
The top is a little charred, but it's still
delicious.

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie sized chicken
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
4 Tbsp. tandoori masala
4 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

Directions:

(1) Prick the chicken all over with a fork. Then using a sharp knife, score the flesh to allow the marinade to penetrate.

(2) Rub the chicken all over with the cayenne pepper (I skipped this step).
(3) Place the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag.
(4) In a large bowl combine all remaining ingredients to create the marinade. Stir until well mixed.
(5) Pour into the bag over the chicken. Seal the bag, and coat the chicken with the marinade.

Seee ya tomorrow...

(6) Place on a tray and refrigerate. Marinade for 8 hours to overnight. (Do not marinade for more than 2 days).
(7) Once ready to cook, remove the chicken 30 minutes before cook time.
(8) Preheat your grill to 400 degrees. Place the chicken on a roasting stand, and place the roasting stand on a tray to catch the drippings.
(9) Remove the chicken from the marinade, pressing lightly to remove the excess. Place the chicken on the roasting stand.

(10) Once the chicken is in place on the grill, cook using indirect heat. (For the side of the grill that the chicken is on, turn the heat to low. The other side should remain on high. You will need to pay careful attention to the chicken from this point on, rotating it every 20 minutes. This will keep one side from being cooked before the other).
(11) Cook for an hour or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F.

(12) Once cooked, place on a serving platter and let rest for 10 minutes.

(13) Serve with lemon, red onion, cucumber and sprigs of fresh cilantro if desired.

* Alternately you could use chicken pieces and cook the straight on the grill