Grilled Chicken, Tandoori Style

I spotted this recipe in a book on healthy Indian cooking, and while to me it doesn't compare to proper tandoori chicken, it's delicious in its own right and has now become my new favourite 'go-to' recipe for grilled chicken. So while I find it a stretch to call it a tandoori chicken, I have no trouble labelling it as amazing, succulent, tender, and guilt-free. Problem is, though it maybe lower in fat than other grilled chicken recipes, you may find you want to eat more portions 'coz it is just so damn good!

(Recipe adapted from Shehzad Husain's Healthy Indian Cooking)

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, weighing about 1.5kg
150ml plain unsweetened yoghurt
1 tsp ginger pulp
1 tsp garlic pulp
1 Tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
salt

Method:

Skin the chicken and cut it into 8 pieces. Make 2 deep slashes in each piece to allow flavours to penetrate through. Alternately poke holes in it using a fork (hint courtesy of my manthing).

In a large bowl: mix the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, tomato puree, paprika, lemon juice, ground coriander, garam masala and 225ml water and add salt to taste.
Pour mixture over the chicken and marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, heat oven to its highest possible temperature. Lift the chicken pieces onto a lightly greased baking tray and place in oven.

Cook for 15-18 minutes, but keep an eye on it during this time to make sure it doesn't brown too fast. If it does, just turn the oven down a bit.

Check if it's done by piercing the thickest part of the chicken flesh with with a knife, the juices should run clear not pink.

Serves 4.

I like to serve it with black-eyed-bean-salad.