a first try: murg tandoori

this past weekend my sister, cl, and i spent the afternoon together while e went car-shopping. we ended up having lunch at abashiri - a tiny little japanese restaurant nearby. my sister had one of the sushi combo bento boxes... i had to ask the waiter if they served katsu curry - which of course they did. he was really surprised that i requested that - and mentioned later that it's listed on the japanese menu only. ha! he almost fell over when i told him that i actually cook katsu curry at home.
anyhow, we then drove up to whole foods to buy some groceries and vitamins... and cake from the bakery. :) i picked up a few meats, namely, a whole cut organic chicken. i've been dying to make (or attempt) tandoori chicken so i thought seeing the chicken in my freezer would be the motivation. last night i opened it up, e helped me clean and cut up the chicken into smaller pieces, and then we put half of it back into the freezer to use another time. (yes, we're learning how to cook for 2.. as opposed to an entire family, then wasting food)
i also picked up some 2% buttermilk so i'd be prepared to make this chicken dish when the time came. so here goes nothing... i didn't measure - so these are approximations:


indian chicken for two
half a chicken, cut up into pieces
kosher salt & pepper
a cup and a half of 2% buttermilk
2 cloves of garlic
a full tablespoon and a half of masala (i used the durban masala from my mum)
a teaspoon of smoked paprika
a sprinkling of cardamon... because I love it


first cut up the chicken to your liking and place in a tupperware bowl. season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. in a separate mixing bowl, pour in the buttermilk. i used my pampered chef garlic press to add the 2 cloves of garlic to the buttermilk. add the spices and mix thoroughly until all the spices have been incorporated into the buttermilk. of course, you could add more or less of the spices noted - i think i added enough? we'll see.
then pour the spiced buttermilk mixture into the tupperware bowl with the chicken and toss the chicken in the mixture until all chicken pieces are coated well... and into the fridge it goes to marinate overnight.

>> update: i was so excited about this recipe try and couldn't wait to come home and start cooking! so out came the tupperware with the marinated chicken; turned the on-stove grill on medium-high and started cooking the chicken.
result: a disaster! the outside of the chicken completely charred and the inside never cooked through. for fear of eating burnt raw chicken (is that possible?) and getting salmonella, the hubby and i threw it all out *what a waste* and drove to dan thai for dinner. what did we order there? all beef. :p

next time i will:
1. add food coloring to the marinade
2. take all skin off the chicken pieces
3. cook on high in the oven

or
the most likely option:
4. just make a run for india house if i want some good and authentic tandoori chicken!