Tandoori chicken combines traditional Indian spices, cooking technique

(Tandoori chicken is marinated in Indian spices, yogurt and sometimes paprika to achieve its signature flavor. It is cooked in a tandoor oven and commonly served with rice. Photo by Alex Darus)

A tandoor oven is as common in kitchens in India and other Asian countries as a backyard grill is in the U.S. The cylindrical clay oven, which usually utilizes charcoal or coal as a heat source, is used to cook a variety of breads, meats and kebabs. One of the most common dishes prepared in a tandoor in Indian cuisine is the bright red tandoori chicken.

Tandoori chicken is marinated in many different Indian spices such as tandoori masala, cayenne pepper and chili powder to give the dish its signature bright red hue. It can also be marinated in salt, pepper and yogurt for added flavor. It’s typically cooked on skewers and served with rice and naan bread.

Balwinder Kaur, an employee at Star of India in Athens, Ohio, said her family’s restaurant serves the traditional meal because of its widespread popularity in all of India and other parts of Middle and Eastern Asia. It’s one of the restaurant’s most requested dishes and they make several servings of it each night.

“Tandoori chicken is a common dish in India. You can go to big restaurant or small ones all over the country and they will all serve tandoori chicken and have a clay oven in their kitchens,” Kaur said.

The chicken has a distinct flavor from the cooking process because it is cooked on a stick, and the juices from the meat drip into the heat source to reinforce the chicken’s flavor in the smoke. That element, combined with the many spices, give the meat a kick that sets it apart from regular grilled chicken. The wing, leg and breast meat are so tender they basically fall off of the bone.

Star of India, 128 W. Union St., offers many dishes cooked in the traditional oven such as tandoori shrimp, sheekh kebabs and chicken tikka. The cooks bake all of their roti and naan bread, which are commonly served with many of the main dishes on the menu, in the tandoor.

“People in America grill,” Kaur said. “Indian people use tandoori ovens.”