Tandoori Chicken

Zeera Murgh

Ingredients:

2 kg Chicken thigh
Cutlets or breasts, whole or in fine strips ( 4.5 lb)
Juice of 2 Lemons
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Cayenne
3 oz Flour
6 oz Butter
2 Onions, finely sliced
2 clove Garlic, crushed
2 1/2 Inch piece root ginger, finely chopped
2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
500 ml Yoghurt * ( 1 Pint)
150 ml Fresh cream * ( or equal quantity of sour light cream ( 1/2 cup)
1 can Coconut cream ( if mixture seems too dry through prolonged cooking)
Thinly pared rind of  1 lemon, in 1 piece ( :) if you can achieve this you are truly exceptional)

Preparation Time : 20 Min

Method:

1. Place chicken on a large plate and rub over with lemon juice. Set aside for at least 20 minutes, then pat dry with kitchen paper.
2. Mix Salt, cayenne and flour on a plate and dredge chicken pieces, shaking off excess.
3. Melt butter in pan, add the chicken and fry until browned. Add onions, garlic, ginger and cumin seeds and fry until golden brown.
4. Stir in yoghurt, cream and lemon rind. Return chicken to mixture and mix until all chicken is well coated. 
5. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked.
6. Uncover the pan for the last 20 minutes, to allow  sauce to reduce.
7. Discard lemon rind ( if you can find it) before serving.

I found that the mixture was too dry for the quantity of chicken; so I used additional yoghurt/ sour cream and the coconut cream to get the consistency I liked.