Tandoori Chicken on the Big Green Egg

Many of my friends from earlier years, including at least all the way through law school, will not recognize me as the writer of this blog.  I was into plain and simple foods, and that was about it.  I “grilled out” chicken, but I was being adventuresome if I put a little teriyaki sauce on it first.  I cannot quite tell you why, but, over the years, my tastes have definitely changed.  I do know that most of the change has come as I have tried to eat healthier (my earlier cookie entries notwithstanding) and have tried to live a generally healthier lifestyle.

I first decided I wanted to try Tandoori chicken on the Egg after having had some really good Tandoori at three different local restaurants.  At first I tried “developing” my own recipe from various sources on the internet.  (Karen hates it when I venture out that way, but that is a story for a different day.)  My first attempt at Tandoori chicken supports Karen’s position – it tasted terrible.  Before going back to the drawing board (or someone else’s recipe) I decided to try the easy way out, and I bought Patak’s Tandoori paste at our local Ingle’s.  I will not be going back to the drawing board on this one.  I love it, and so does Karen (and almost everyone else in the extended family).  It is too “spicy” for the kids, or so they say.  I really wonder how much of their concern is really the red color.  It is easy enough to take care of the kids – I just marinate some more chicken in Italian dressing and cook it alongside (but, heaven forbid, not touching) the Tandoori.

When I grill any boneless chicken on the Egg, I buy boneless breasts and cut the breasts into three pieces each.  This gives you more surface area for marinating and lets the chicken cook more quickly.  However, the pieces are larger than the “chicken tender” strips that you can buy (and cheaper).  Besides not wanting to spend the extra money, I find that the breast tenders can get over cooked very quickly if you get distracted.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

8 tablespoons Patak’s tandoori paste

6 tablespoons plain yogurt (I use the low-fat store brand)

Directions:

1.  Marinate the chicken with the Tandoori paste and yogurt in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator overnight.
2.  Heat up the BGE to 600 degrees.  (I have done this with and without the plate setter, and it works both ways.  The Egg heats up quicker without the plate setter, but if you do not use it, you have to be more careful of flame-ups.)
3.  Cook the chicken on the Egg until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
4.  Enjoy.