Tandooreeeeeeee!

I was excited to hear we'd be working on the tandoor today. It's a deep clay urn with burning charcoal at the bottom and can hit a temperature of 500C. We're using a modern tandoor today, it has a gas stove at the bottom! Chef had an effective way to convey that safety was of utmost priority by showing us his tandoor scar. 

The full name of the dish is called Tandoori Murgh Tikka (Tandoor Roasted Marinated Chicken). Tikka means long marinate. Origin of dish is North India. We must have used something like 15 different spices. Garam Masala - an ingredient I see alot in Indian recipes - is a standard base for tikka. It is made up of bay leaves, cinnamon, cardammon and cloves or BCCC as Chef calls it. Another one he said was 3G and he didn't mean telco. 3G is ginger, garlic and green chilli. This means massive mise en place for Indian cuisines. But I like to do mise en place because it makes me feel well prepared.

We used about 15 different spices!

We used a giant skewer that went all the way into the tandoor. 

At a temperature of 500C, it took only a few minutes before we saw the chicken darkening.

Skewers removed when chicken is half-cooked for basting with butter
before we put them back into the tandoor again for a bit of crispy charring.

There should be some black charring on tips of chicken pieces. Great with the mango chutney we blended.

My group also prepared mise en place for Dal Makhani (Lentils stewed with butter and tomato) and Pudina Chutney (Mint and Yoghurt sauce).  Another group prepared Naan (Tandoor bread with plain flour) and Roti (Tandoor bread with whole wheat flour). Recipes available if you seriously intend to try these dishes. Do leave a comment on this post if interested. 

Some things are taught. Some things are caught. You have to watch an Indian knead his dough.

How did he get them so round??! I did one - you can easily tell which one!

I slapped my roti dough onto the wall of the tandoor and it stuck. Some others fell when people become afraid of the heat. Julia Child says, Be fearless!

After just a minute, remove with 2 long skewers.

Authentic Indian roti

This is a big pot of lentil goodness - red kidney beans, black beans with 15 or more different spices. I helped myself to a whole ladle!

I love North Indian food. Incredible India!