Tandoori chicken
Chicken tandoori in Punjab, India
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| Course | Main Course |
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| Place of origin | Punjab, India |
| Region or state | Indian Subcontinent |
| Created by | Kundan Lal Gujral of Moti Mahal |
| Main ingredients | Chicken, yogurt, honey, tandoori masala |
| Variations | Tandoori paneer, Fish tandoori |
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Tandoori chicken is a yoghurt and spice marinated chicken cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. It is a popular dish originating from the Indian subcontinent. The tandoor oven originates from the northwest frontier. It is popular in India and has become increasingly popular in other parts of the world through Indian restaurants.
The raw chicken is marinated in a mixture of yogurt and the spice tandoori masala. Cayenne pepper, red chili powder or Kashmiri red chili powder is used to give it a fiery red hue. A higher amount of turmeric produces an orange color. In milder versions, both red and yellow food coloring are sometimes used to achieve bright colors, but turmeric powder is both mild and brightly colored, as is paprika, a sweet red pepper powder.
The marinated chicken is placed on skewers and cooked at high temperatures in a heated clay oven known as the tandoor. It is heated with charcoal or wood which adds to the smoky flavour. The dish can also be cooked in a standard oven, using a spit or rotisserie, or over hot charcoal.
Indian cookery writer Dharamjit Singh provides a range of tandoori recipes for whole grilled chicken, some of which are cooked in a tandoor and others over charcoal. These include Chirga (Roasted whole chicken); Tandoori Murgh (Roast whole chicken with almonds); Murgh Kabab Seekhi (Whole stuffed chicken on the spit); Kookarh Tandoori (Steamed chicken on spit); Tandoori Murgh Massaledarh (Whole spiced chicken on spit); and Murghi Bhogar (Chicken in the Bhogar style).
Tandoori chicken originated at the Moti Mahal Delux restaurant. Kundan Lal Gujral, a Punjabi Hindu, is credited with invention of the dish in 1947. Gujral founded the restaurant in the Daryaganj area of Delhi. It was in this restaurant that Gujral invented Tandoori chicken, along with other dishes like Butter Chicken.
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