Tandoori Chicken at home

A traditional tandoor will cook meat quickly at a temperature way higher than you can achieve using an ordinary oven at home, therefore hard to replicate. So, a home version of any tandoori dish will be just that - a version. The guiding principle is, though, to get the oven up as high as it will go and cook till the meat just starts to brown.

Tandoori chicken is very easy to do once you've got the marinade right - there are basically two steps: marinade and bung in the oven. I like to do 2 separate marinades, but you don't have to if you're in a hurry.

Oh, and one last tip: skin the chicken! If you don't, the marinade won't permeate. Skin is waterproof!

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 2.50 zl (50p!)

You'll need:

- 500-600g of chicken legs/ thighs
- the juice of a lemon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- salt
- 4-5 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
- 2 tsp ginger/ garlic paste
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
- 2 finely chopped green chillies (optional)
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Leave the chilli powder and chillies out and you'll have a child-friendly version.

Really nice served with potatoes and salad.

Let's go:

1. Make the first marinade with lemon juice, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Slit the chicken in 3-4 places to really let those spices permeate! Leave the chicken in for around 30 minutes.

2. Make the next marinade with the yoghurt and the rest of the spices and the ginger/ garlic paste.

3. Hey, if you like it a bit hotter and the kids don't mind then throw in some chopped green chilli and chilli powder! Transfer the chicken to this marinade and leave for at least 4 hours.

4. Get the oven whacked up to full. Put some sliced onions in the bottom of a baking dish - this will prevent the chicken from burning at the bottom and will also impart good flavour.

5. Add the chicken and roast in the oven for around 20-30 minutes or until the meat just starts to brown on top. 

Cost:

- chicken: 8 zl
- the rest: 2 zl

Total: 10 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 2.50 zl