Best Spicy Tandoori Grilled Chicken With Curry Cucumber Sauce Recipes

GRILLED TANDOORI CHICKEN WITH INDIAN-STYLE RICE

Steps:

• Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
• Use a sharp knife to cut slits into the chicken pieces; this will allow the marinade to really get into the chicken. 3 slits per drumstick and 4 to 5 per thigh should do the trick.
• Usually, Tandoori Chicken calls for the skin to be removed, but I left it on because you want that crispy chicken skin (obviously). You can decide for yourself, but be aware that skin-on chicken is more prone to flare-ups when grilling. You'll have to watch the chicken more closely while it's on the grill and flip the pieces more often to avoid hot spots--all reasonable trade-offs for some extra flavor!
• Place the chicken in a large dish. Spread the marinade all over the chicken and let marinate at least 12 hours, but not more than 2 days. We marinated our chicken for 16 hours, and even more marinating time wouldn't have hurt!
• Be sure to take the chicken out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours prior to grilling, so the chicken can come to room temperature--kind of like how you never want to grill a cold steak. This is an important step since there will be marinade on the chicken, and it will burn if the chicken is left too long on the grill because its internal temperature is too low.
• This is a good time to make your Indian-style jeera rice. We've measured out enough rice here to take down all of the chicken, but feel free to make more or less. Wash the rice thoroughly and drain into your cooking vessel. Cover with water and allow to soak for 20 minutes.
• While that's happening, heat your oil/butter/ghee in a saucepan. When it's melted, add the cumin seeds, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Let the spices infuse the oil for 2-3 minutes. After the rice has finished soaking, drain it thoroughly and add it to the spice mixture. Sauté the rice in the pan for about 2 minutes, and transfer to a rice cooker. Add the salt and water (according to your rice cooker directions), and press Start. If you're not using a rice cooker, use our directions for perfect stovetop rice.
• Now it's time to cook the chicken. Start your grill, and keep it covered until it reaches 500 degrees.
• Shake off the excess marinade before placing the chicken on the hot grill. Cook with the grill covered, but stay close to watch for excess smoke, a sure indicator that your chicken is charring!
• Turn the chicken as often as needed to prevent burning and keep the grill cover on so the chicken cooks through quickly. Our chicken took about 45 minutes, and we did have to turn and move the chicken pieces often.
• The chicken is done when the juices run clear when poked or, better yet, use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature near the bone. The optimal temperature for chicken is 165 degrees F.
• For the rice, during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time, add the frozen peas and stir thoroughly. Let the rice reheat. Serve the chicken with the rice, sliced fresh cucumbers, sliced red onion, and cilantro.

SPICY TANDOORI GRILLED CHICKEN WITH CURRY-CUCUMBER SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the ginger powder, curry powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper; set aside 2 teaspoons of the mixture.
• To make the brine: In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, salt, sugar and minced garlic; mix to combine until the sugar and salt are dissolved completely.
• Stir in the remaining ginger mixture into buttermilk mixture (keep about 2 teaspoons to flavor the chicken pieces before grilling).
• Place the chicken pieces in a large heavy-duty ziploc freezer bag, and then place in a shallow dish to catch any small leaks.
• Pour the buttermilk brine/ginger mixture mixture over the chicken pieces in the bag.
• Coat the pieces well with the brine.
• Place in refrigerator for 3-4 hours, turning the bag occasionally to distribute the marinade over the chicken.
• When ready to grill, remove the chicken from the bag and discard marinade/brine.
• Sprinkle the chicken with the reserved 2-3 teaspoons of the ginger spice.
• Set grill to medium temperature.
• Place the chicken on the grill and cover with grill lid.
• Cook chicken for about 50-60 minutes.
• To make the curry-cucumber sauce: In a bowl combine all the ingredients; mix well to combine.
• Cover and chill until serving.
• Delicious!

TANDOORI-SPICED GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder. In a food processor, purée onion, garlic, and ginger to a fine paste, 30 seconds.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion mixture and cook until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in spice mixture and turmeric. Let cool completely, then stir in yogurt and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.
• Rub some of yogurt mixture all over chicken; then gently separate skin from breast and rub more under skin on each side. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate at least 12 hours and up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature 1 hour before grilling.
• Prepare grill for direct- and indirect-heat cooking (push coals to one side of a charcoal grill, or turn off one side of a gas grill after preheating). Brush grates with oil. Place chicken over indirect heat, bone-side down, with legs closest to heat source. Cover grill and cook, maintaining a temperature of about 400°F, until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (nearest but not touching bone) registers 150°F, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to direct heat and cook, uncovered, flipping a few times, until charred in places and just cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Let stand 15 minutes before serving with chutneys, pickles, cucumbers, and mint.