Tandoori Chicken and Cucumber Raita

This might be one of our favorite meals in this house, I make this quite often.  I know I can't officially call it a Tandoori Chicken because its not cooked in a Tandoori oven but it comes close in flavor.  I love to serve this with a quick and easy Cucumber Raita and some Coconut Rice.  The chicken recipe has a lot of spices in it but it is so flavorful.  I really love this dish and I hope you give it a try.  Enjoy!!

What you need:

For Chicken

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I like to use Greek)

1/2 cup minced onion

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp each: cilantro and salt

1/2 tsp each: cumin, ginger and turmeric

1/4 tsp each: cinnamon and pepper

1/8 tsp ground cloves

4 (1pound) bone-in skinless chicken thighs

1 lg onion, sliced

What you do:

Combine all ingredients until the chicken ( I do this in a large Ziploc bag) and mix well.  Add the chicken and coat in mixture.  Seal and refrigerate for one hour - overnight.

Heat oven to 475 degrees.  Remove chicken from marinade.  Lay over thinly sliced onions on a broiler pan.

 Cook until the chicken is done and the onions are tender,  About 25 minutes.

What you need:

For Cucumber Raita

1 medium cucumber

1 tbsp finely chopped onion

1tbsp salt

1 ripe tomato, chopped

1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup plain yogurt (I use Greek Yogurt)

1 tsp cumin

What you do:

Peel the cucumber and slice lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and cut the cucumber into thin slices.

Combine cucumber, onions and salt and mix.  Let this mixture rest for 5 minutes and remove the water that has accumulated.

While its draining you can combine the tomato,cilantro, yogurt and cumin and turn gently with a spoon to combine. 

Add in the cucumber mixture and combine once more.

Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Linking up HERE