Grill-Roasted Tandoori Chicken Recipe

Grill-Roasted Tandoori Chicken Recipe

  • ½ cup plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 3½- to 4-pound chicken(s), spatchcocked, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 lime(s), cut into wedges, for serving
  1. Stir together the yogurt, ginger, garlic, curry powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a medium-size bowl until well mixed. Set it in a zip-top bag along with the chicken, close the bag, massage the two together, and let sit for at least 4 and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you’ve brined the chicken, reduce the amount of salt in the mixture to ½ teaspoon and proceed with the rest of the recipe.)
  2. Prepare a charcoal fire or heat up the gas grill (heat all burners to medium-low). For a charcoal fire, pile a couple of layers of briquettes on one side and a sparse single layer of charcoal on the other side of the grill so that you end up with a moderate zone and a cool zone. Your fire should be ready when the briquettes are mostly gray (or, if you’re using hardwood, when they are red hot).
  3. Set the chicken on the grill (on the hotter part of the charcoal grill) skin side down, cover on the gas grill, and cook until the skin starts to brown (checking occasionally to avoid burning), 10 to 15 minutes. Gently flip the chicken (I like using tongs and a large metal spatula in tandem), then reduce the heat to low on the gas grill or transfer the chicken to the cooler side of the fire on the charcoal grill. Cover (with the vents open on the charcoal grill) and cook, checking occasionally to ensure that the chicken is not burning, until it’s nicely browned all over and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°F to 170°F—this should take another 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then carve the chicken and serve with a sprinkling of the cilantro and a wedge of lime for squeezing.