Servings : Serves 4-5
This recipe is by far a family favourite. Takes literally NO effort to make, even a complete novice in the kitchen can make this and have rave reviews! It's also a healthy dish, in the sense that there is no frying involved and just 2 tbsp of oil is used. It's incredibly tasty and very versatile. Can work as a dinner meal or a lunch one, depending on what you serve with it. Leftovers, when shredded off the bones, work beautifully in rolls and sandwiches or in a tossed pasta salad or even as topping for a pizza…I've used leftovers in just about every other meal hahaha! I hope you all enjoy this wonderful recipe as much as I do! 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, without skin, cut into 8 or 10 pieces
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 3 tbsp. tomato paste/puree (if your tomato paste is of a good bright colored type, then first use 2 tbsp. and check how the color looks when blended with the rest of the ingredients...if you find you need more you can then add as necessary)
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 heaped tsp. garlic paste
- 2 tsp. red chilli powder
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. tandoori masala powder
- 1 mug plain yoghurt
- 2 green chillies (add more if you want it spicier)
- 1 bunch of coriander, with stems (not just the leaves)
- juice of 2 lemons (if your lemons are very juicy then use just the juice of 1)
Instructions
Clean and wash, then drain the chicken and set aside in a bowl.
Put ALL the other ingredients into a blender. Blend everything together until smooth. If you find the color is not as vibrant as you would like, add a tsp. of tandoori masala and a little more tomato paste, and blend again. Then pour over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate, let it marinate preferably for about 2-4 hours, but up to overnight is fine.
Pour everything into a glass pyrex baking dish, cover with foil. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Place your baking dish on the center rack and bake for 30-35mins.
(At this point your whole house will have the most appetizing aroma. So be warned, tummies will growl!) 😀
Remove dish, open the foil and turn the pieces over. Baste them with some of the liquid, just scoop with a spoon n drizzle over the pieces to keep them moist. Replace foil and put the dish back in the oven. Bake for another 30-35mins.
Finally remove the dish from the oven and discard the foil. Turn the pieces over once more and baste again with the sauce just to retain moisture, then put the tray back into the oven (without the foil this time) for about 10 minutes or so just to give the pieces a nice color. (If you have a grill in the oven, turn it on at this point to give the chicken a fantastic finish).
Once ready, remove and cover loosely with the foil until time of serving so the heat is retained.
Serving options: I've served this dish with many different things in the past, but the best accompaniment in my opinion is fries, some sort of bread like naan or pita or parathas, a fresh salad and an icy cold drink.
Again too good. Loved it. Made wraps with the leftovers.
tried it out, couldnt marinate the chicken for long; only half an hour, but it was too good.
what would i do with out u.u give me a happy home.may Allah grant you whatever you ask for Ameen.
Can u use a steel dish to bake it
Yes you can although it is always preferable to use glass-ware when baking tomato-based recipes as metallic dishes tend to react with tomatoes to give off a slightly acidic taste to the food.
Can da chicken b baked witot da foil?
It would dry out, try and cover the chicken as it bakes even with a flat metal pan. Anything that can cover it.
Can we freeze it after marination for ramzan
Yes you can, although it is always best to make the marinade fresh as it doesn’t take a lot of time to blend and pour on the chicken.
HI , JUST WANTED TO ASK U BY 1 CHICKEN DO U MEAN 1 KG ?
Hi, yes anywhere from 1kg to 1.5kg is fine.
Salams…recipe was delicious..made it 4 the family iftar n it was greatly enjoyed.jazakallah…may Allah reward u wel 4sharing these woderful recipes…ameen.
Salaams, my oven is broken. How would I make this on the stove?
W/Salaam, you can pressure cook the chicken for 2 whistles, then release the steam and open the pressure cooked, see if there is too much water which you can dry off on low heat. Otherwise cook it on low heat in a covered pot if you don’t have a pressure cooker for about 30 minutes or until done.
Hey fauzia,
In the Recipe it calls for Full Yoghurt … How many percent fat does it have?
I’m afraid the German regular Yoghurt won’t work?? It has only like 5% fat..
I use Natural-Set yoghurt, any would do as long as it is thick and not too watery.
Salaams.tandoori masala?where can I get that from?
Spice isle of most supermarkets or desi shops.
Made this recipe for suhoor accompanied by the stove top naan, my kids just couldn’t get enough! Thanks.
Hi hun, can i use pure insted os paste???
Hi, yes you can.
Hi have a doubt whole cumin is shahi jeera or normal jeera?
Hi, normal jeera.
thanx 🙂
can it be made with boneless chicken ?? and any alteration in recepie or baking minutes?????
Yes it can, boneless will take less time to cook, adjust according to the size of boneless pieces you are using.
hi fauzia plz cld u help me i need to nw how to make chicken and fish nambali so plz cld u help me thankyou
Hi, sorry I don’t have those recipes yet.
Hi Fauzia can i get the measurement of yogurt in cups or grams i have a big mug which is around 1000grms….should i use the whole of that ?….please confirm thanx
Hi, I measure yoghurt in ML not GRAMS. 300-400ml should be fine.
the onion would be raw right not fried? as u have mentioned red here! sorry im still in the learning process:D
Yes raw.
salaams… i would like to know if i can bake it in a non stick tray ..? will the masala stick on it or its fine ..?
W/Salaam, if you have a pyrex or glass baking dish, use that instead.