For meat lovers, Indian Cuisine is never complete without Tandoori Chicken, Chicken cooked in Tandoor (A cylindrical clay oven).

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3 black cardamom pods, seeds only
• 1 tbsp green cardamom pod seeds
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 3 fresh hot green chillies, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp mild chilli powder or paprika
• 2 tbsps double cream
• 4 tbsps sunflower oil
• 2 1/4 pounds of skinned chicken pieces
• 3 tbsps ghee or melted unsalted butter
• 4 lime wedges

Chaat Masala:

• 4 tsps lightly roasted and ground cumin seeds.
• 1 1/2 tbsp amchoor (ground mango powder)
• 2 tsps cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 3/4 tsp finely ground black salt
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Combine the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and cloves and grind to a fine powder. In a food processor combine the chillies, garlic cloves, root ginger, salt, chilli powder or paprika, double cream and sunflower oil then blend to a paste. Add the ground spices and mix thoroughly to form a marinade. Cut deep diagonal slashes into the chicken pieces and then mix with the marinade to achieve an even coating of marinade over the chicken and worked deep into the slashes.
2. Refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off as much excess marinade as possible. Lay the chicken on a baking tray and baste with the ghee or melted butter. Place the chicken in the top third of an oven pre-heated to its maximum temperature. Breast pieces will take 10-12 minutes to cook, legs and thighs 15-20 minutes. Once cooked through, remove the chicken from the oven; sprinkle with the chaat masala and limejuice and serve immediately.
3. Chaat Masala: Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together ensuring that any lumps are broken up and store in a tightly lidded container.

In many Indian restaurants, the red Tandoori chicken is served with sliced onions. It is India’s version of barbecued chicken and being one of the most popular delicacies stemming from the North of India it has survived years of perfection. The Tandoori chicken when served should be accompanied by freshly cut onions, and wedges of fresh lime.