Tandoori Chicken

i've always loved my mom's tandoori for as long as i can remember.
its always so flavorful and the spices just fill your mouth like a perfect symphony.
When i was younger, i never thought that i could attempt it.
So many different kinds of spices. It just looked looked like something that was beyond me.
I remember how my yaya used to set up a small pot of charcoal at the back of my house to grill the perfectly marinated chicken and she would prepare a small bowl of already squeezed lemon juice for us to drizzle over.
so i finally attempted it and it is actually not as difficult as i thought!
I am very lucky to have a organic super market with all the spices in the world at my fingertips at reasonable prices too :)

So this Tandoori chicken is not like what you order when you eat at a typical indian restaurant.
Usually cooked in a clay oven or over a barbecue, i  bake mine for convenience and also cause i love to drizzle the sauce over my rice but then again, you can also barbecue it for that woody barbecue flavor.

serves 4

Ingredients
4 chicken leg quarters
1/2 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp cayenne powder ( chili powder ) adjust according to how spicy you want it to be. i like it hot.
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp white pepper
2  tsp seasalt
1 cup unhomogenized plain yogurt
1 tsp olive oil
1 lemon squeezed

Wash the chicken and remove all excess fat. Flip the chicken over skin side down, make some cuts on the meat for the marinade to fully go into the chicken. Sprinkle 1tsp salt all over the chicken and rub into meat. Leave aside.
Chop garlic and dice the onions. In a pan, heat the oil on medium to high heat and fry the onion and garlic together until onions caramelize and you can smell the aroma.
put onion and garlic mixture in a big bowl together with  cayenne powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, pepper, salt, 2tsp of lemon juice and yogurt. Mix well and add the chicken.
Cover it and let t sit for at least 3 hours or best, overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C
On a parchment paper, place chicken nicely and keep some sauce.
Bake for 30mins or until you see slightly roasted at the edges.
add remaining sauce and bake for another 5 minutes.
Serve with lemon juice.

Bon appetite!