Tandoori Masala

Tandoori Masala

Basic recipe for 500 g chicken (no added food color)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon thick curd / yogurt (without water / hung curd)

1 tablespoon fresh cream

1 tablespoon thick ginger – garlic paste

1 ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon oil (to grease baking tray)

Extra 1 teaspoon oil (for chicken)

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a wide bowl. Make a smooth paste. Do not add extra water, left over ginger – garlic paste, curd, lemon juice ….. Marinade (masala) should be thick in consistency).

Method

Wash chicken pieces and drain out water completely. Wipe each piece with a kitchen towel. Apply chicken pieces with marinade ingredients evenly. Cover and keep aside for 4 hours. You can use this marinade for normal tandoori preparation / grill / baked chicken with tandoori masala recipes / butter chicken masala..

For baking:

Preheat oven (OTG) at 200 * C or 400 *F.

Grease baking dish with 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange marinated chicken pieces and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden color on top. Remove from the oven and turn the other side. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon oil on top of chicken pieces and bake again for 15 minutes or until golden color. Keep aside to cool for 15 minutes and shred chicken pieces or cut into cubes (for butter chicken masala / chicken tikka masala).