Tandoori chicken thighs and legs cooked on my stove-top grill pan!
It was while I was briefly Googling "pepper chicken" recipes recently for the potluck that I came across this recipe I wanted to try:
Tandoori Chicken
1/8 tsp saffron powder, or 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads (see Note)
1 tbsp boiling water
4 skinless chicken thighs
4 skinless chicken legs
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika (I used pimente d'Espelette)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 to 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, depending on how hot you want it
10 turns fresh ground black pepper
1 c whole-milk plain yogurt
juice of one fresh lime
1 tbsp finely-minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
Soak the saffron in the boiling water for five minutes.
Meanwhile, with a sharp knife, score the chicken flesh deeply, each piece slashed three times.
Add all ingredients but chicken to a large zip-top freezer bag including saffron (and water). Express out most of the air, then seal the top. Massage the bag to mix the ingredients.
Add chicken, coat the pieces, express the air and seal.
Refrigerate the chicken overnight.
Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and fry the pieces with the thick marinade clinging to them, in a hot oiled grill pan until dark on one side. Flip and fry until darkened on the other side.
Slip a knife in the meat and make sure the chicken is cooked through. If not, add a bit of water to the pan to loosen any caramelized bits, and place in a 350°F (180C) oven for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
Wow, pretty easy. I like marinating stuff overnight since you are allowed a really easy-to-prepare meal the following day or you can concentrate on making some great sides. We just ate chicken. LOL! How easy is that? Really though, I was pretty focused on the performance of the grill-pan during first use.
Flavor, are you kidding? This was great -- and I had let it marinate over not one, but two nights. Rodney is definitely a fan of having this again. Win-win!
Cost for me:
- saffron threads (see Note): $19.99/gram
- thighs and legs: $0.77/lb = $3.47
- whole milk plain yogurt: $1.49/8 oz
- juice of one fresh lime: $0.11
Rodney had gone to the store with me and so realized the price of this particular spice immediately, which made him crack jokes regarding, well, crack. When I was preparing the recipe, I played his game, saying, "What? We paid 20 bucks a gram for this and the recipe calls for 4 grams!?" Needless to say, Rodney's eyes bugged nearly out of his head. That's what he gets.
We'll definitely have this again, though I'll be spending some time to find another recipe that calls for saffron. I'd like to get a wide variety of use as possible with the $20 we already spent on this one single spice. For some reason, it makes me feel better if we put it toward multiple recipes. One thing I'd like to know for sure is whether the chicken would be better if only marinated for one night, rather than two like I (possibly stupidly) did, or if it makes a difference whether the saffron is incorporated at all.
NOTE: you don't have to use it if you don't want to or can't find it -- per the original recipe.
Oh, if you're interested, I chopped up two chickens to get the thighs and legs for this recipe. We had Vietnamese Chicken again, thanks to the boobs.
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