Tandoori-Style Roasted Chicken Legs If you are thinking of cooking something to satisfy your craving for Indian food, this is definitely the dish. Tandoori-Style Roasted Chicken Legs will transport you to another land of spice and color. This dish will ta
"<em><strong>Editor's Note: </strong>If you are thinking of cooking something to satisfy your craving for Indian food, this is definitely the dish. Tandoori-Style Roasted Chicken Legs will transport you to another land of spice and color. This dish will take some work, but it's well worth the effort. This chicken is named after an enormous cylindrical clay pot that Indians use for cooking. The pot, which serves as an oven, is heated by a layer of hot coals underneath it. The chicken is then suspended above the coals to roast. The combination of the dry hot air and the heated clay give the food a certain earthy-type quality. A traditional yogurt-based tandoori marinade and cooking at a very high temperature in your own kitchen will help you develop that earthy taste and feel in your chicken as well. </em><br /> <br /> Authentic tandoori chicken takes its name from a tandoor, an enormous cylindrical clay pot used in Indian cooking. The “oven” is heated by a layer of hot coals on the bottom of the pot, and skewers of poultry (or meat) are then suspended above the coals to roast. The combination of the very hot dry air and the heated clay gives foods cooked in a tandoor a distinctive earthy character. Even without a tandoor at home, you can come deliciously close to the real thing by starting with a traditional yogurt-based tandoori marinade, roasting at a very high temperature, and serving the chicken on a bed of charred onions with fresh cilantro and lime. If you’ve eaten tandoori chicken in an Indian restaurant (or in India), you may recall the vivid red-orange hue of the roasted meat. This comes from a natural dye added to the marinade for the sole purpose of appearance. If you want the authentic experience, purchase tandoori coloring at a specialty food store or by mail-order and add a few drops to the marinade. I find that the golden pieces of chicken flecked with crisp bits of cooked-on marinade are gorgeous enough without the added coloring. One word of caution when using a yogurt-based marinade: The natural enzymes in yogurt are such effective meat tenderizers that the chicken can become mushy if left in the marinade for more than 6 hours. Serve the chicken with fragrant basmati rice...."