Pan Fried Tandoori Chicken

When I was going to school in Michigan, I remember using those Maggi Pre-Mixed Chicken Tandoori spice I got from Malaysia to make Tandoori Chicken. I always felt that it lacked something but did not know what it was and did not bother to find another alternative either. It was until my Canadian friend, Adil who's of Pakistani decent made some to die for Tandoori Chicken and I asked him for the secret recipe! It turned out, that it was super simple to make. That day onwards, I've been using his recipe with a little tweak and never looked back at any Pre-Mix Chicken Tandoori Spice!!!

Anyway, I've always oven-baked my Tandoori Chicken, until recently when I decided to pan-fry it with some butter! I thought it tasted wonderful!! The butter help brown and flavor the chicken a little more giving it a slight charred flavor almost like the Tandoori Chicken cooked in those claypot ovens. If you are able to grill/bbq it, go right ahead, the chicken taste even better with that smoky flavor!

Therefore, I'm sharing this easy recipe with you and I would highly recommend that you marinate this one day in advance :

PAN-FRIED TANDOORI CHICKEN RECIPE

Chicken Tandoori Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup Sour Cream
• 2 tbsp Tandoori Masala Spice
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 pcs skinless chicken thighs (**recommended to debone and cut to half, as this shorten cooking time)
• 1 tsp garlic powder **Optional
• 1 tsp onion powder **Optional
• Butter/margarine

Garnish:

• 1 lemon, cut into 6-8 wedges
• 2-3 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped

Method:

Stir and mix all the wet and dry ingredients except the butter and chicken in a large mixing bowl. Then add chicken pieces and make sure all chicken are well coated. Cover bowl with a plastic wrap or transfer it into a Zip Lock bag , store in your fridge and let it marinate about about 12-24 hours.( I prefer to marinate it for about 24- 48 hours to let the flavors infuse into the chicken).

Melt butter (approx 1-2 tbsp) in a pan and pan fry the chicken over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes on each side, making sure chicken is cooked all the way through. You can brown the chicken a little for the charred flavor. Transfer cooked meat to a platter, sprinkle some Cilantro and garnish with Lemon wedges! Serve with Rice or Naan. I hope this will be a palatable dish to most! Enjoy!