A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...: Oven Baked Tandoori Chicken

I don't pretend for even a minute to be any kind of authority on Indian cuisine. My experience is limited to a few heavenly experiences at the local Indian buffet at Taj Mahal, a few jarred sauces I poured over chicken, and a family favorite recipe of Honey-Mustard Curry Roasted Drumsticks that Gene clipped out of the newspaper a long while ago. But my curry roasted chicken and recent Indian buffet experiences were enough to get me interested enough to start reading and pinning recipes on Pinterest.

Tandoori Chicken by A Fridge Full of Food blog

I had two large chicken breasts to use for dinner tonight and decided tonight was the night to try something a little different (for us). Reading through a few of the Tandoori Chicken Recipes I'd Pinned, I chose the one that had the least amount of steps (Gene's laughter in the background) and that all but one of the spices actually had taken residence up in my cupboards (thanks to a couple of purchases from Amazon). The one thing I did not have and omitted was Kashmiri Chili Powder. I substituted (per the instructions) a lovely smoked paprika that I believe was a gift from Auntie Susan. You know foodies, we all squeal at new spices for Christmas! The recipe calls for Garam Masala but I happened to have bought Tandoori Masala with this recipe in mind. Whew, so the spices were covered. I admit Ground Coriander is not something I use frequently, this being its first outing, but I loved the sweet smell. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I can now see myself using this spice frequently.

Gene and I both loved it so it will be hitting our table again. I did make a comment on FB that my method/spices/whatnot may not be authentic but it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoy playing around with this new dish. I intend to keep exploring Indian cuisine both when we go out to eat and here at home.

One funny note before I give the link to the recipe and my step-by-step photos, Gene and I found that the spots that came out the most charred on the chicken? Were the most delicious. Those were the spots where the spices really came alive on the tastebuds. Had I known that beforehand, I might have left it in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. Yum!

Thanks Nagi from RecipeTin Eats for this Oven Baked Tandoori Chicken Recipe!