Indian cuisine is really accessible, but you must make sure you find good-quality spices and don’t settle for a ready-mixed spice packet. Impress your family and friends with this tandoori chicken and Indian-style rice, a pairing of incredible flavours! It would go perfectly, for example, with a voluptuous red from the southern Rhône region to match this explosion of spices.
TANDOORI CHICKEN
Preparation time for each step: 20 min + 1 hour + 24 hours
Cooking time for each step: 35 min + 30 min
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 4 chicken thighs (halved and skinned)
- 1 lime
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3 tsp ginger
- 3 tsp red chilli powder
- 3 tsp garam masala
- 250g Greek yoghurt
PREPARATION
The word “tandoori” doesn’t refer to a paste or a blend of spices, but rather the preparation of marinated chicken cooked in a tandoor; a type of oven that cooks food at a very high temperature in a short space of time. In the West, the best way to reproduce this cooking method is on a BBQ, thanks to the intense heat that is generated by them. But don’t fret – you can still achieve a great result cooking it in your home oven.
First Marinade
Place the chicken thighs in a large container (ideally so they are lying flat).
Add all the juice from the lime.
Crush and mince 3 cloves of garlic and rub into the chicken.
Add 2 teaspoons of ginger and 2 teaspoons of red chilli powder, rubbing into the chicken.
Place in the fridge to marinate for 1-2 hours.
Second Marinade
Add all the Greek yoghurt.
Crush and mince the remaining two cloves of garlic.
Add 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder.
Add 3 teaspoons of garam masala.
If you want to give your chicken a fiery red colour, add a small amount of red food colouring to your marinade.
Mix well with the chicken thighs, ensuring they’re fully coated.
Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for a further 24 hours (or a minimum 12 hours, if you’re in a rush), stirring once or twice.
THE FINAL STEP…
Once ready, preheat the oven to 220°C, removing the grill beforehand.
Line up the pieces of chicken in two or three rows on the foil-covered grill and place in the oven, on the middle rack.
Cook the meat for 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.
To finish cooking, turn the oven to the grill setting (2/3) and move the grill rack up one shelf so it’s closer to the heat.
Leave under the grill for 5 to 10 minutes (or until you’re happy with the colour), turning regularly.
Serve with Indian-style pilau rice.
INDIAN-STYLE PILAU RICE
To make the pilau rice, place it in fat, i.e. butter, before cooking it in stock (almost like a kind of risotto!). Then, add onion and spices. This style of rice goes particularly well with very spicy Indian dishes, such as tandoori chicken.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
280g long grain rice (such as basmati)
2 chopped onions
1 crushed and minced clove of garlic
40g butter
3 cloves
4 cardamom seeds
10 black peppercorns
1 stick of cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp garam masala
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
PREPARATION
Wash the rice several times until the water is more or less clear.
In a cast-iron frying pan, melt the butter and sauté the chopped onions, then add the garlic, the rice and spices (except for the turmeric, garam masala and coriander).
Stir regularly until the rice is slightly translucent (just over 5 minutes).
Stir in ¾ of the stock and the remaining spices.
Bring to a rolling boil.
Once boiling, reduce to a low heat. Put a sheet of greaseproof paper over the pan and then the lid.
Leave to cook on a low heat for 10 minutes.
Make sure the stock has been absorbed completely by the rice. Add a ladle of hot stock if the rice is too dry. Gently fluff up the rice with a spatula or fork to aerate the rice without breaking it up, then leave to rest for a further 5 minutes, covered, before serving.
When serving, remove the bay leaf and larger spices.
THE PERFECT PAIRING
Red wines
- Red Côtes-du-Rhône
- Gigondas
- Red Vacqueyras
- Red Châteauneuf-du-Pape
White wines
- Riesling Grand Cru
- Pinot Gris Grand Cru
