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Authentic tandoori chicken

Authentic tandoori chicken

Authentic tandoori chicken
Authentic tandoori chicken

Tandoori chicken is my favorite Indian food. Tandoori Chicken is named after the cylindrical clay oven in which the dish is traditionally prepared, called a tandoor, which commonly gets up to almost 500-degree F in temperature. Western chefs have had to modify the cooking method, either grilling or roasting the chicken. This recipe roasts the chicken in the oven and achieves fabulous results.

The secret to making juicy, tender and bursting Tandoori chicken are Greek yogurt and Garam Masala. The yogurt makes the chicken tender and moist while the Garam Masala gives the iconic aroma and flavors. Bake the marinated chicken in the oven at high heat (400 degrees F). The heat will seal in juice inside the chicken.

The long list of spices garlic, onion, ginger, paprika, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper and juiced lemon in our tandoori chicken marinade, don’t feel intimidated! They are simply spices, no more difficult to utilize than any other common spice on your spice rack. The more Indian food you cook, the more familiar these will become to you.

The original Tandoori Chicken is usually quite spicy. Kashmiri chile powder is used to give it heat as well as give it it’s reddish hue. In my version, I used food coloring to create color, although paprika and turmeric create nice coloring as well.

  • 2 pounds chicken legs no skin (8 legs)
  • 2 cups greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon yellow food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon red food coloring
  • 1 lemon juiced

Clean the chicken

Add the rest of the ingredients to the chicken and mix well (I use a zipper bag and just sort of squish it all around).

Let marinade in the refrigerator for at LEAST 8 hours, preferably 24 hours.

Remove the majority of the marinade before cooking the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and cook on a sheet pan for 25-30 minutes.

Authentic tandoori chicken
Authentic tandoori chicken

Serve warm

Note:

  • If you don’t have an oven, preheat grill to get a surface temp of about 450. For a charcoal grill, ignite a chimney starter full of lump charcoal and burn until the edges of the coals look ashy, about 15 minutes. Clean and oil. Let rest at room temperature until grill is ready.
  • Place chicken legs on the grill. Arrange the chicken pieces skin side up over the cooler part of the grill.  You will want the meaty end towards your heat source to cook them through. Close the lid and smoke the chicken for 45 minutes. Turn the chicken every 10 -15 mins
  • Move the chicken to the hot side of the grill, and grill, uncovered, turning and moving the chicken regularly to manage flare-ups, until lightly charred on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes.
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Yellow rice with shrimp and braised Chicken

Yellow rice with shrimp and braised Chicken

4 Tbsp butter 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp turmeric 

1/4 tsp cumin 

1 tsp ginger 

2 cups uncooked long grain jasmine rice 

3 cups Water (or chicken broth)

2 cup cleaned shrimp

1 onion

1 cube

Salt to taste

Add the butter, onion, Shrimp, garlic, turmeric, cumin, cube and ginger to a medium sauce pot. Sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or just until the onion has softened.

Add the dry rice to the pot. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes to slightly toast the rice. You may hear a slight popping or crackling noise as the rice toasts.

Add the water and place a lid on top, increase the heat to high, and bring the pot to a rolling boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer (with the lid in place) for 20 minutes.

After letting it simmer for 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest (do not remove the lid) for an additional 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

 

For the chicken:

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp ginger

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 cup olive oil

1 cube

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper, ginger, garlic powder and olive oil. Whisk well. 

Marinate the chiken and refrigirate for 4 hours.

Cook for 20 minutes, uncovered. Lower oven temperature to 375F and cook for another 20-25 minutes, or until chicken reaches 160F.

For a crispier skin, broil chicken for a couple of minutes!

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Ivorian Alloco recipe and braised chicken

Ivorian Alloco recipe and braised chicken

Alloco (Aloco or Alloko) are Ivorian fried plantains. Alloco is also consumed in Benin, Nigeria (Dodo), Democratic Republic of Congo (Makemba), Togo (Amanda) and Ghana (Kelewele). The Alloco is served with crushed chilli, braised chicken, braised fish and boiled eggs. In Ivorian capital, the Alloco is sold in the Allocodrome.
Alloco (Aloco or Alloko) is a popular Ivorian dish made from fried plantains. Sliced plantains are sliced and fried in peanut oil. Some recipes include ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, onion, anise, clove or cinnamon. I used peanut oil but other uses palm oil. I served my alloco with braised chicken.

Some ripe plantains

A little salt

Oil for frying

Peel and cut the plantains into cubes.

Then salt the bananas.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the plantain until each side is golden brown.

Remove and place them in a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

6 chicken legs

1/3 cup cilantro

1/3 cup fresh oregano

1/3 cup onions

4 garlic cloves

2 red hot chili pepper (or substitute with 1/2 a teaspoon of red pepper flakes)

3/4 cup oil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

1 cube

Bend all the spices together all of the ingredients and set aside.

Place the chicken legs in a medium bowl, add the marinade. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least several hours, or better yet, overnight and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the grill to 300F at the grate level. Basically, the grill should not be very hot.

Grill chicken legs over direct heat, flipping frequently, about every 3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and internal temperature has reached a minim of 165F.

Let the chicken rest for 3 minutes and serve with the alloco