Tandoori Chicken

I once attempted to make tandoori chicken with a jar of ready-made tandoori paste.
Result : Never will I do that again, though I did get that fiery red color thing going, more on my dish towels and countertops than the actual chicken,.

Fast forward to a year ago, where I saw a review of a Williams Sonoma recipe on the now closed Trial and Errors blog (Nabeela, Nabeela, oh where art thou?) which etched itself firmly in the back of my head as The Recipe To Try If Ever...

I have to giggle though. Ironically, I defaulted to an American cookbook for a recipe of the most popular item in any Indian restaurant, both on and off the sub-continent. And as if stars collided, I also chose to post on tandoori chicken the same week HE did. OK, not that I'm proposing a recipe duel of sorts, but the recipe below was GOOD. Thanks Nabeela, for sharing, even though I don't know how to get that across to you anymore =(.

My Rating: 4 out of 5
Gripes: Requires previous day prep, so don't try to pull this one out for a surprise treat.
Glows: Restaurant style chicken right out of your humble oven

Adapted from Williams Sonoma - Essentials of Roasting and Trial and Error blog

Ingredients:
8 chicken legs , skins removed
1/2 cup yogurt
1/3 onion, cut into chunks
2 serrano chilis, cut into thick rings
mint leaves from 4-5 sprigs
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground pepper
OPTIONAL - 1/4 cup tomato ketchup or tomato sauce
OPTIONAL - 1 drop red food color
Glaze:
1 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp lime juice
Method:

1. Make the marinade by blending or processing in a food processor yogurt, onion, serrano, mint, ginger-garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, chilli powder, garam masala, ground pepper, food color and tomato ketchup/sauce. Blend to a smooth puree.
2. Taste for salt and adjust. The marinade should be a little on the salty side so that the meat absorbs it.
3. Rinse the legs. Using a sharp knife, make a cut to the bone around the bottom of the drumstick, about 3/4 inch from the end. Remove the flesh and any tendons. This will ensure the meat will contract in a nice clump when you bake it. (Note - I didn't do this, the chicken looks like a giant lollipop when you do this, I left the tendons on.)
4. Slash 3-4 cuts on each leg to the bone to help the marinade penetrate further.
5. Place the chicken legs in a ziploc bag or bowl and pour in the marinade. Make sure the marinade covers the chicken pieces and gets into all the slashes.
6. Marinate for 12-24 hours in the fridge.
7. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before roasting.
8. Preheat the oven to 500 F. You need this high temperature since we are trying to replicate a tandoor oven which can go to very high temperatures.
9. Take out the chicken from the marinade, place on the roasting rack and roast in oven for about 20-25 minutes, till the juices run clear.
10. Melt butter and add lime juice.
11. Brush butter-lime mixture over chicken before serving (it's best to serve the chicken hot).