Spiced Tandoori Chicken Recipe (Tandoori Murgh)

Spiced Tandoori Chicken Recipe (Tandoori Murgh)
Tandoori chicken, perhaps the most publicized of all Indian chicken preparations, takes it name from the tandoor or clay oven in which it is cooked. Shaped like a big jar and usually buried in earth, the tandoor is heated by white-hot coals within. The chicken is threaded on a very long skewer, which is lowered into the oven, leaving the bird to cook over the coals. Try this version cooked in a gas or electric oven. It does not have quite the same flavor as when cooked over coals, but is just too delicious to miss. Ingredients :
2 X 500 g 1/2 teaspoon 1 tablespoon 4 cloves 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon 1/2 teaspoon 1 teaspoon 1 1/2 teaspoons 2 teaspoons 2 tablespoons	Small Chicken Saffron strands Boiling water Garlic, peeled Finely chopped fresh ginger Lemon juice Chili powder Paprika Garam masala Salt Ghee
Method : Skin the chickens and make slits in the flesh of the thighs, drumsticks and breast to allow the spices to penetrate. Soak saffron in boiling water for 10 minutes and put into a small blender jar with garlic, ginger and lemon juice. Blend the mixture until smooth. Scrape out blender jar and mix all other ingredients except ghee with the blended mixture. Dry the chickens inside and out with kitchen paper. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken, especially in the slits of the cuts. Cover and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours or preferably refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 200oC (400oF). Put ghee in a roasting pan and heat in the oven for a minute to melt the ghee. Spread the ghee over the base of the pan. Put chickens in the roasting pan, side by side but not touching, with the breast downwards. Spoon the melted ghee over the birds. Roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes. Baste with ghee, turn the birds on one side and roast for 15 minutes. Then turn on the other side, baste again and continue roasting for a further 15 minutes. Turn birds breast upwards, baste well with ghee and pan juices and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, basting every 5 minutes. Serve hot with parathas or naan roti and an onion salad. Note : If oven has a rotisserie, it is ideal for cooking tandoori chicken, but it will still be necessary to baste the birds because the skin has been removed.