Today’s rainy weather calls for some lip smacking home made Tandoori Chicken! Since it was not feasible to grill outside, I decided to bake,broil and then smoke them to get that authentic tandoor taste. The chicken turned out so moist and juicy on the inside with a crisp n char on the outside just like the ones we get at the restaurant. The girls simply loved it!!

Ingredients

Chicken Drumsticks-12

Ginger Garlic paste-1 tsp each

Yogurt-1/4 cup

Red Chili powder-1 tsp

Spanish Paprika-1 tsp

Black pepper powder-1/2 tsp

Garam Masala powder-1/2 tsp

Coriander powder-1/2 tsp

Cumin powder-1/4tsp

Dried Mint powder-1/2 tsp

Kasuri Methi- 1/2 tsp crushed

Turmeric-1/4tsp

Lemon Juice-2 table spoon

Salt to taste

Melted Butter-1 tsp

Orange food color-1/4 tsp ( optional)

Method

Clean the chicken and pat them dry.Now make two to three  slits on each piece using a knife.

Take a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix them well together making sure there are no lumps. Now add the chicken drumsticks to the marinade and give it a nice mix so that all the pieces are well coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least three hours(leave it overnight if you want them packed with more flavor)

Oven Method:

Pre heat the oven at 350degrees.Line a baking sheet with foil, spray some non stick spray, Line the chicken pieces evenly and let them cook for forty minutes turning them once or twice in between.

Now, change the oven setting to broil and let the chicken broil for 3-5 mins depending on the oven. Take the chicken out of the oven and loosely cover it with foil and let it rest on the counter. If you like the Smokey flavor then add a piece of hot coal topped with ghee and then cover the chicken pieces with foil and let it rest.

Smoking:

Take a piece of burning charcoal in a oven safe bowl, add a tsp of ghee on top of the hot coal and loosely cover the bowl with some foil. Make sure there is some smoke coming out from the sides of the bowl. Now, carefully place this bowl in between the chicken pieces and let it smoke for at least 20mins.

Grilling:

Preheat the grill at 250 degrees. Now place the chicken pieces on the grill plates and slow cook it at 250 degrees for 20mins flipping side a few times. Now increase the grill temperature to 350 and cook for 20 more more minutes. Make sure to keep a close look at the chicken so that they don’t burn.

Enjoy with your favorite salad on the side!!