Tandoori Chicken

Step 1: Rinse the legs under cold water and pat them dry with a clean paper towel. Make two deep slits across the flesh of each chicken drumstick and keep aside in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Using a food processor/blender/immersion blender, pulse all the ingredients from the yogurt to the salt until completely smooth. Pour the marinade over the chicken and coat the meat evenly. Cover with cling film and allow to marinade in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (maximum overnight) before cooking. (At this point if you don’t want to cook all 6 pounds of chicken, divide the marinaded chicken after 2 hours and froze half of it in a ziploc bag, the rest I kept to marinate).

Step 3: Place one wire rack in the middle of the oven and another rack closest to the top and preheat to 400°F.

Step 4: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place about 6 pieces of the chicken drumstick about an inch apart from each other. Pour about 1-2 tablespoons of the left over marinade from the chicken over each piece of meat and cook in the oven on the middle rack for about 35-40 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over half-way through the cooking. The chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 160° F. At this stage, immediately switch the broiler on and transfer the rack with he chicken to the top shelf. Broil for about 3-5 minutes until the chicken pieces get slightly charred.

Step 5: Remove the chicken drumsticks and place in a plate, cover and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the tandoori chicken before serving. Cook the rest of the tandoori chicken drumsticks and serve similarly.