Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.4kg, skinned and cut into 4 pieces
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste for the first marinade
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 300g plain yoghurt, hung in muslin for 2 hours
• 1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste for the second marinade
• 1 tbsp mustard oil
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chaat masala, plus extra to finish
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
• 1 tbsp besan (gram flour), dry roasted
• 3 tbsp melted ghee or butter, for basting
• 1 small piece of natural charcoal (optional, for smoking)
• Onion rings and lemon wedges, to serve

Before you cook

• Skin the chicken pieces completely, since yoghurt will not cling to skin.
• Cut three deep slashes into each piece, right down to the bone.
• Rub in the lemon juice, chilli powder, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and salt, working it into the cuts, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Hang the yoghurt in muslin over a bowl for 2 hours until it is thick enough to hold a peak.
• Dry roast the besan in a pan for 2 minutes until it smells nutty, then let it cool.

Steps

1. Beat the hung yoghurt with the remaining ginger garlic paste, mustard oil, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala, chaat masala, black pepper, roasted besan and crushed kasuri methi.
2. Coat the chicken pieces thoroughly in this second marinade, pushing it into every slash.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight if you can.
4. Take the chicken out of the fridge 40 minutes before cooking.
5. Heat the oven to its maximum, at least 240C, with a rack set over a foil-lined tray.
6. Arrange the chicken pieces on the rack with space between them and roast for 15 minutes.
7. Turn the pieces, baste them with melted ghee, and roast for another 12 minutes.
8. Turn the grill to full and char the chicken for 4 minutes until black blisters appear at the edges.
9. Check the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer; the juices should run clear.
10. To add smoke, sit a small steel bowl among the cooked pieces, drop in a red-hot coal, pour a teaspoon of ghee over it and cover the tray tightly for 4 minutes.
11. Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then dust with chaat masala.
12. Serve with raw onion rings, lemon wedges and mint chutney.