tandoori chicken

I really think i was born in the wrong hemisphere.

When the weather is cold and sends you diving under the covers, i'm craving foods like grilled corn and crisp salads. i make a lot of quick soups. i grumble about the state of cucumbers and asparagus. i think the homiest things i want to make in the cold months are roast chicken and potatoes or creamed spinach.

now that spring is here and this weekend has been so warm, i'm spending this gorgeous day with my favorite lazy afternoon companions: dorie greenspan and thomas keller. i've pulled 'around my french table' and 'ad hoc at home' down from the cookbook shelves and what recipes do i run my fingers over contemplatively? why, the braised short ribs. the long-simmering pork shoulder with peach glaze. the beef stew that takes four days to make and requires two kinds of fresh stock. you know, stuff that you should be making to lift your spirits and warm your hands when it's snowing outside. when you run in from the cold and light the fireplace. not the kinds of foods you want to crave when it's so hot outside the fridge fogs up when you open it. not the kinds of foods that will make the place so stinking hot you have to sit for a while with a cold towel on your forehead if you stay in the kitchen for too long. which, by the way, happened at least a half dozen times last summer. memphis summer nights damn near killed me.

so i'm beginning to realize why andy comes home and is so exasperated when he sees the dutch oven come out on a day the air conditioning has been running nonstop. he knows what's coming; the main characters have just made their first appearance.
i'm slowly understanding how messed up my brain is. for some reason, i just always crave hot, stick-to-your-ribs, heavy dishes during the hottest days.
so this year i'm trying to compromise. trying. grilling outside with spice heat instead of heat stroke heat. see? compromise. baked beans that can cook for five hours outside in a crock pot with an extension cord. how brilliant you are, Julia! and that's just the beginning.


so to kick it off: tandoori chicken on the grill.
this is an america's test kitchen recipe that i've been excited about for a while. there haven't been any blow-your-socks-off indian restaurants in my life for a while, so i've been missing out on this charred, moist, super-flavorful chicken for a long time.



the tandoori paste was right on, and i loved how it stained my hands like henna. i think that with each new season i get so excited with new crops and ingredients to work with that i tend to slow down when the weather begins to change again, like i'm holding back my energy for the next season. i can already feel the mexican vibes flow through me this spring, so maybe i can mail-order some dried chiles and finally tackle some mole or tamales on my own.

without presumptions that i could improve upon an ATK recipe, i've made a few slight changes for cooking this on the grill instead of the oven. also, i know it's a pain to run out and buy a knob of fresh ginger instead of using powdered, but please do it. it lends a brightness that counters the deep, heavy spices and is really worth it. also, i got 3 small limes and it was more than enough for the recipe.

Tandoori Chicken

3 lbs chicken parts (1 3-lb chicken cut up), bone in and skin removed
4 T lime juice
1 c whole yogurt
2 tsp salt

Paste:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp chili powder (i used ancho chili powder for all but 1/8th tsp or so, where i added in some cayenne)
1 Tbsp garam marsala


Gash the chicken pieces on one side a few times with a sharp knife, 1/8 inch deep

Heat oil on medium. Add garlic and ginger and cook swiftly, not letting brown. Add other spices and cool for a minute to bloom.

Divide Paste into 2 bowls - one larger and one smaller. to the smaller bowl add 2 Tbsp lime juice and the yogurt.
To the larger bowl, add the remaining 2 Tbsp lime juice and 2 tsp salt. Add gashed chicken and really rub the paste all over, making sure to get into the cuts. let sit for 30 mins at room temp.

Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and mix. oil the grill to prevent sticking, though it'll still stick a bit because of the yogurt. grill should be set to 325 (med. low). place chicken scored side down.

grill for 20-25 minutes (until breast meat registers 125 degrees, thigh 130), then flip and turn grill to low and cook for another 10 minutes or so. if the chicken breast is closer to 160 before you flip, consider taking the breast meat off a little earlier than the rest of the pieces.
when done, meat should register 160 degrees at the breast and 175 for the dark meat. tent with foil for a few minutes before eating.

if you wanted to make a mint chutney with this, process mint, onion, lime juice and yogurt until smooth.

if you're doing this in the oven, the instructions are to bake @325 for 22 minutes, then turn oven broiler on and ensure rack is mid-low in the oven. flip chicken and finish cooking 8-10 minutes.