Tandoori chicken

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox food

Tandoori chicken is a dish made from chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. The dish is now popular worldwide. The modern form of the dish was popularized by the Moti Mahal restaurant in New Delhi, India in the late 1940s.

HistoryEdit

Chicken roasted in tandoor-like ovens is documented in the Harappan civilization of the Bronze Age of Indian subcontinent, as early as 3000 BC.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="eco">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Much later, the Sushruta Samhita records meat being cooked in an oven (kandu) after being seasoned with black mustard (rai) powder and fragrant spices.

Tandoori chicken as a dish originated in the Punjab before the independence of partition of India.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the late 1940s, tandoori chicken was popularised at Moti Mahal in the locality of Daryaganj<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in New Delhi by Kundan Lal Jaggi, Kundan Lal Gujral and Thakur Das Magu, who were Punjabi Hindu migrants from Peshawar<ref name="hindustantimes.com"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="sunday-guardian.com">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as well as the founders of the Moti Mahal restaurant.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto1"/><ref name="ndtv.com"/><ref name="qz.com"/><ref name="sunday-guardian.com"/> They used to work at a small eatery called Moti Mahal, owned by a man named Mokha Singh Lamba in Peshawar, British India, from the 1920s to 1947.<ref name="indiamarks.com"/><ref name="Origin of Tandoori Chicken"/><ref name="DESIblitz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Tandoori chicken was popularized in post-independence India by Moti Mahal, Daryaganj in Delhi<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="indianexpress1">Template:Cite news</ref> when it was served to the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.<ref name="Gujral 2004" /> There, tandoori chicken became a standard offering at official banquets.<ref name="Gujral 2004" />

In the United States, tandoori chicken began appearing on menus by the 1960s. Jacqueline Kennedy was reported to have eaten "chicken tandoori" on a flight from Rome to Bombay in 1962.<ref>Matt Weinstock, "Strange Beast Puts the Bite on Robert" Los Angeles Times (15 March 1962): A6.</ref> A recipe for tandoori chicken was printed in the Los Angeles Times in 1963, for "the hostess in search of a fresh idea for a party dinner";<ref>"East Indian Cuisine Provides Inspiration for Hostesses" Los Angeles Times (14 March 1963): D6.</ref> a similar recipe was featured in the same newspaper in 1964.<ref>Marian Manners, "A Flock of Chicken Dishes From Around World" Los Angeles Times (17 September 1964): D1.</ref>

PreparationEdit

File:Tandoori Chicken with oven.jpg

Tandoori chicken being prepared in a tandoor oven.

Raw chicken parts are skinned then marinated in a mixture of dahi (yogurt) and tandoori masala, a spice blend. They are seasoned and colored with cayenne pepper, red chili powder, or Kashmiri red chili powder as well as turmeric or food coloring.Template:Efn

The marinated chicken is placed on skewers and cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor oven, which is heated with charcoal or wood, which adds to the smoky flavour. The dish can also be cooked in a standard oven, using a spit or rotisserie, or over hot charcoal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There are also tandoori recipes for whole chicken, some of which are cooked in a tandoor and others over charcoal. These include Chirga (Roasted whole chicken); Tandoori Murgh (Roast whole chicken with almonds); Murgh Kabab Seekhi (Whole stuffed chicken on the spit); Kookarh Tandoori (Steamed chicken on spit); Tandoori Murgh Massaledarh (Whole spiced chicken on spit); and Murghi Bhogar (Chicken in the Bhogar style).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

CuisineEdit

Tandoori chicken can be eaten as a starter or appetizer, or as a main course, often served with naan flatbread.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is also used as the base of numerous cream-based curries, such as butter chicken.<ref name="McDermott 1999 p. 100">Template:Cite book</ref>

Tandoori chicken
A piece of a tandoori chicken.JPG

A portion of a tandoori chicken, at a restaurant in India.
Tandoorimumbai.jpg

Tandoori chicken served at a restaurant in Mumbai, India.
Tandoori.JPG

Tandoori chicken in Punjab, Pakistan.
Grilled Tandoori chicken.jpg

Tandoori chicken hanging at a restaurant in Agra, India.
Tandoori Chicken - Dhaka 2015-05-31 2740.JPG

Tandoori chicken in Dhaka, Bangladesh

VariationsEdit

The fame of tandoori chicken led to many derivatives, such as chicken tikka (and eventually the Indian dish popularized in Britain, chicken tikka masala), commonly found in menus in Indian restaurants all over the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Nearly all derivatives of tandoori chicken begin with a yogurt and citrus-based marinade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>