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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tandoori Chicken with Lemon Rice

My husband and I both really enjoy Indian food. Our old apartment was within walking distance of curry row, and we loved walking over to try all of the different regional specialties. Those dining experiences inspired us to try many of the dishes at home including Tandoori Chicken. It requires just a bit of hands-on time and planning ahead, and the results are full of flavor and spice. It does require quite a few spices. I recommend looking for them at an ethnic market where spices tend to be more affordable than at the grocery store and you can often purchase smaller quantities.


We served the chicken with some lemon rice. The the tartness of the lemon in the rice is balanced by the cashews, and it's always a big hit. Marinating the chicken in the yogurt and lemon spice mixture keeps it nice and moist and tender. We served this to company so we adjusted the quantities to make sure there would be enough for our guest and some leftovers. Both recipes can easily be adjusted up or down to accommodate your numbers.

Tandoori Chicken
serves 6

2 lbs cut up chicken (we just used chicken legs)
2 T garlic, roughly chopped
2 T ginger, peeled and chopped
2 T cumin seeds, or ground cumin
2 t ground coriander
1 t cayenne
1/2 t ground cardamom
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t pepper
2 t salt
1 C yogurt
4 T lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
2 T coconut oil
1-2 onions, cut into thick slices
cilantro, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the skin from the chicken, rinse and place in a bowl. Combine the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cayenne, cardamom, cloves and pepper in a food processor or blender. Pulse the spice mixture until the garlic and ginger are integrated. Add the yogurt and lemon, and pulse to combine. Pour the yogurt spice mixture over the chicken. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least an hour, but up to 24 hours. Coat the bottom of a casserole pan with the oil, and place the sliced onions and chicken in a single layer. Bake the chicken for 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Lemon Rice
inspired by The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi

1 1/2 C rice
3 C water
1 t salt
3 T butter
1/2 C raw cashews
1 T mustard seeds
1/3 t turmeric
1/3 C lemon (juice of 2 lemons)
3 T cilantro

Add the rice, water, salt and 1 T butter to a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Follow the cooking directions for your rice. While the rice is cooking, melt the remaining butter in a small skillet and add the cashews. Cook until they are starting to turn golden. Add the mustard seeds and cook 2 more minutes. Once the rice is finished cooking, add the mustard seed, cashew and butter combination plus the lemon juice, turmeric and cilantro and fold together. Garnish with some extra cilantro.

This post is part of Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tuesdays at the Table, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Tasty Tuesdays, Works-for-me Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Let's Do Brunch, Welcomne Wednesday, and Real Food Wednesdays.

18 comments:

Betsy said...

This looks good. We love Indian food!

Salonie said...

If you like Tandoori Chicken with Lemon Rice, you MUST try the butter chicken or the 'murg do pyaaza'! Yummmmy! :)

Jenn said...

This looks and sounds delightful. I love to make tandoori chicken. I usually make saffron rice with mine... but this lemon rice sounds like a nice change.

Miz Helen said...

We love Chicken Tandoori, my daughter always makes it for us. I will pass your recipe on to her. Thank you for sharing and have a great day!

Alida Sharp said...

My husband loves Indian food... I just copied this into my recipe file!

Candace said...

This looks delicious! My husband and I spent some time in India this past summer actually. Thanks for sharing! :)

togetherforthebetter.blogspot.com

LifeBelowZero said...

Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Hi! I am a new follower stopping by from Delectable Tuesday!
Life Below Zero
http://casinofreebies3.blogspot.com/

Carolina HeartStrings said...

This is one of my favorite dishes. Yours looks wonderful.

Unknown said...

Stopping by from the Welcome Wednesday blog hop to follow you. This looks and sounds amazing! Thanks!

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

I've never really been brave enough to try true Indian food (except for a few mild curries I've made myself), but this looks really good! I might have to try it some day! :)

Hunger and Thirst said...

That's such a great tip about shopping at ethnic markets for spices. I've also found that they're much less expensive there, and I feel like they are often fresher as well. Thanks for sharing with the Hearth and Soul hop.

Unknown said...

I am glad you like Indian food. I am an indian and it makes me happy when people like my cuisine.

I am your new follower from blog hop. Hope you will follow me too @ http://masalabowl.blogspot.com/2011/03/day-290-blog-hops.html

Dawn said...

This sounds so wonderful. Thank you for sharing the recipe. =)

Shu Han said...

i love love love indian food too! i so want that right now ;) I agree, i've tried cooking chicken marinated in yogurt and spices before, but in in a tomato yogurt curry gravy, and it turned out so tender!

http://mummyicancook.blogspot.com/2011/02/chicken-in-tomato-yogurt-curry-dahi.html

Anonymous said...

HI..Following you from Lets Do Brunch.. I love Indian food..we live in Singapore and we have the privilege to eat Indian food anytime. Thanks, I would love to try your recipes!

Mama.Mommy.Mom. said...

That rice sounds sooo good! I'll have to bookmark this so I can try it later!

I'm a new follower from Welcome Wednesday.

jamie @ www.mamamommymom.com

Unknown said...

i just love indian food...and i love the smell that lingers in the house for hours after it is cooked. i'm a little strange that way :)! your tandoori chicken and lemon rice look incredible...thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club!

April J Harris said...

That is a wonderful tandoori chicken recipe, and I absolutely love the sound of the rice with the lemon and cashews. Delicious! Thank you for sharing it with Let's Do Brunch. Hope you will come along and link up again tomorrow!

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