Recipe> Chicken Legs in Tandoori Masala

Image: Delicious home-made chicken legs in tandoori masala

Text by: Tanya Munshi

On my recent visit to Dubai, I had picked up Rajah Tandoori Masala (Spice Mix) to add to my spice collection. But obvious, I didn't want to make the typical dhaba style tandoori chicken, it won't be possible to get the authentic taste, so I decided to try my own recipe with it.

Ingredients:

• Chicken legs - 4-6 nos.
• Onions - 1 small, finely sliced
• Garlic - 5-6 nos, crushed and finely chopped
• Salt - to taste (add little, as the tandoori masala has salt in it)
• Vinegar - 1 cap full or
• Lemon - 1 whole
• Black pepper - 1 tsp, freshly ground
• Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken legs for over an hour with salt, tandoori masala and lemon juice/ vinegar

2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add the crushed garlic, black pepper and onions. Saute till brown.

3. Now add the chicken legs and the juice. Mix well and cover with lid.

4. Occasionally increase the flame and check to see it doesn't burn. The moment it begins to stick on the vessel, lower the flame and pour a cup of water.

5. Reduce the water to a thick consistency and check whether the chicken has been cooked.

6. Add the coriander leaves, cover and cook for a few minutes more and serve hot with roti or steamed rice and daal.

Recipes> Chicken Fry in Roast Style

Image: Chicken Fry in Roast Style
Image by: Kent Wang

Text by: Tanya Munshi
My aunt had taught me how to prepare chicken roast, which happens to be one of my favourite dishes. Unfortunately, I don’t have an oven in which I can roast the chicken, but I tried this experiment at home along with my aunt and even today I keep improvising the same. So here goes…

Ingredients:

• 500 gm chicken (try getting the legs, breast and the wings as these portions have more meat)
• ½ a cup onions - finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic – finely chopped
• Salt – to taste
• 1 capful Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon back pepper powder
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 capful white vinegar

For the marinade:

• In a bowl, mix the chicken pieces with Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, honey and white vinegar.
• Allow the chicken to marinate in the mixture for minimum ½ hour or for a couple of hours before cooking

Method:

• Heat olive oil in the wok and add the onions and the garlic. Sauté till brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic, as burnt garlic tends to lend a bitter flavour.
• Then add the entire chicken along with the juices that have come out during the marinade.
  Cover and cook and keep checking for doneness.
• The chicken should be well cooked, with a golden brown to a slightly dark brown colour.
  Check with a fork or a knife for doneness. The fork or knife should smoothly go inside and come out from the meat, without much effort.
• Serve hot with soup and garlic bread combination, or simply dig in with steamed rice.