Tandoori chicken

Did You Know?

• The fame of tandoori chicken led to derivatives such as chicken tikka and chicken tikka masala.
• Nearly all derivatives of tandoori chicken begin with a yogurt and citrus-based marinade.
• A recipe for tandoori chicken was printed in the Los Angeles Times in 1964.

History

Chicken roasted in tandoor-like ovens is documented in the Harappan civilisation of the Bronze Age, as early as 3000 BC. The Sushruta Samhita later records meat cooked in an oven (kandu) after being seasoned with black mustard (rai) powder and fragrant spices. Tandoori chicken as a dish originated in the Punjab before the independence of India. In the late 1940s, it was popularised at Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, New Delhi by Kundan Lal Jaggi, Kundan Lal Gujral and Thakur Das Magu, Punjabi Hindu migrants from Peshawar who had worked at a small eatery called Moti Mahal owned by Mokha Singh Lamba in Peshawar from the 1920s to 1947. The dish was served to the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and became a standard offering at official banquets. In the United States, tandoori chicken appeared on menus by the 1960s; Jacqueline Kennedy reportedly ate it on a flight from Rome to Bombay in 1962, and a recipe was printed in the Los Angeles Times in 1963.

Preparation

To make tandoori chicken, raw chicken pieces are first skinned and then soaked in a marinade of yogurt and tandoori masala spice blend. For heat and color, cooks add cayenne, red chili powder, or Kashmiri red chili powder, plus turmeric or artificial food coloring. The marinated chicken goes onto skewers and is cooked at high heat in a tandoor oven, which uses charcoal or wood fuel to give it a smoky taste. Alternatively, it can be prepared in a standard oven on a spit or rotisserie, or directly over hot charcoal. Beyond pieces, whole chicken versions exist, such as Chirga (roasted whole), Tandoori Murgh (roasted with almonds), Murgh Kabab Seekhi (stuffed on a spit), Kookarh Tandoori (steamed on a spit), Tandoori Murgh Massaledarh (spiced whole on a spit), and Murghi Bhogar (Bhogar-style chicken).