With surprisingly little effort, you can make incredibly flavorful tandoori chicken. Grill or broil it into a juicy, golden brown star of the show. Healthy skinless, boneless chicken thighs spiced this way is a crowd-pleaser!
In a medium-sized non-reactive bowl, mix the marinade ingredients except for the chicken. Add the meat and coat thoroughly coat with the marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. If you are marinating for more than 4 hours, don't add the lemon juice until just before cooking. See Notes below.
GRILLING
Be sure to allow the chicken to come to room temperature (about an hour) before grilling
While your chicken is marinating, prepare the grill. For a charcoal grill set both upper and lower vents to half-open. Heat your charcoal briquettes or hardwood charcoal.
For a gas grill set half the burners on a gas grill to the medium-high heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes.
When the charcoal is halfway covered with ash, dump them evenly on half the grill. Cover and allow the grill to heat up for 5 minutes. Using a wire brush clean the grill grate and oil well.
Shake off any excess marinade and place your chicken on the cooler side of the grill and let it cook covered for 10 minutes. Turn the thighs over and switch the pieces so that the ones nearer the heat are farther away. Cover.
About eight minutes later when the chicken is around 140°F (60°C) mark, move the chicken to the hot side of the grill. Cook on each side until it is nicely charred in spots. This will take about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. I like to cook chicken thighs to between 175°F (80°C) to 185°F (85°C). Dark meat becomes even more tender up until about 200°F (100°C).
For the gas grill: Proceed as above beginning with placing the chicken on the grill.
BROILING
Adjust the oven rack 6 inches from the broiler and allow it to preheat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and top with a well-oiled wire rack. Place the chicken pieces on the rack and broil for 10 minutes.
Turn the pieces over and check again in 8 minutes. You are looking for both sides to be evenly charred and an internal temperature of 175°F (80°C) to 185°F (85°C).
Give the chicken a quick spritz of fresh lemon or lime juice and gilding of ghee before serving. You can also give your chicken a sprinkle of chaat masala.
Breasts: white meat tends to dry out very quickly. Use the same method but cut 3 or 4 deep gashes in each breast to allow the marinade to penetrate. Remove from the heat when the temperature is no higher than 165 degrees. Many chefs stop cooking at 160F (70°C) or even 155°F (68°C). This is up to you. (The USDS recommends 165°F (75°C), but white meat can be dry at that temperature.)
Bone-in, skin-on thighs: this works too, but the chicken will take much longer to cook. Also, when grilling, start the chicken skin side down and don't try to flip them for at least 20 minutes or until the skin releases. Otherwise, you will leave the skin on the grill.
If you don't have time to make tandoori masala powder, here are some other ideas. Follow the instructions on the package.
Eastern tandoori masala: this spice powder came closest to my version. The chicken was full of flavor without being too spicy.
MDH tandoori barbeque masala: a very good spice mix with a hint of chili.
The acid in lemon or lime juice breaks down the fibers of poultry or meat so if you are marinating for longer than 4 hours, I recommend that you stir in the lemon juice just before cooking.
If you have your heart set on some smokiness and you are not grilling your chicken add 2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of liquid smoke, or swap out 1/2 or all of the oil for mustard oil.