After being teased with bathing suit weather and endless fresh gulf seafood at Food Blog Camp in early January, we just couldn’t go back to heavy winter foods. So for the last couple of months, we’ve been eating like it was 80 degrees outside, even if it was only 35.
I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve had Cilantro Tandoori Chicken since January. The chicken sits in a fragrant and flavorful marinade and is then grilled to crispy and juicy perfection. While it’s very good as a grilled cut-up whole chicken (the original recipe), it’s excellent when served as tacos.
We serve the tacos with our favorite pineapple salsa, wrapped in a fluffy tortilla. Prior to cooking this recipe, neither of us were crazy about dark meat but we were quickly converted. We now “fight” over the last thigh and leave the white meat for the baby 🙂
A couple of notes: There is a lot of marinade here. The original recipe called for the legs, thighs, and breasts from a 4 lb chicken. The first time we made it, I realized it could easily handle double the chicken as I was pouring a bunch of used marinade down the drain. So now when I make it, I marinate 10-12 skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs in the biggest glass bowl we have. These leftovers don’t suck!
Tandoori Chicken Tacos
The chicken sits in a fragrant and flavorful marinade and is then grilled to crispy and juicy perfection. While it’s very good as a grilled cut-up whole chicken (the original recipe), it’s excellent when served as tacos.
Ingredients
- Up to 12 chicken thighs (see note above)
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (Greek-style is my favorite)
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander (I used 2 rounded tsp of whole coriander)
- 1 tsp salt
- Vegetable oil, for oiling grill pan/grate
- Flour tortillas, for serving
Instructions
- Place chicken in a large bowl. Place remaining ingredients in the blender and process until smooth. If you use a really thick yogurt, you might need to add a little milk if your blender struggles with the marinade.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for several hours to overnight.
- Oil grill (or grill pan) and heat to medium. Remove chicken from marinade and shake off the excess marinade.
- Grill ~10 minutes each side (for bone-in/skin-on – use your meat thermometer), until juices run clear and the skin has nicely browned. Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Yields: 4-6 servings (whole chicken) or up to 12 (individual thighs)