Tandoori Wings & Garlic Cheese Naan

If you’ve read my Garlic Cheese Naan post, you would’ve been acquainted with the phenomenon we have in Malaysia.

Mamak.

Mamak holds plenty of fond (some not too fond) memories of youth… of late night suppers, of FIFA games, of friends or families just hanging out and chilling at a laid back type of ambience. Let’s go Mamak has become a popular thing to say among Malaysians.

It’s probably safe to say that Mamak was my second home. I was there most every nights. It was way cooler (figuratively and literally speaking) to be at a Mamak than to be at home watching TV with my parents (no offense mom and dad). You see, Malaysia’s hot. Not like sexy hot. Like weather hot. The only time it gets cool is at night. The later, the cooler. So of course it was only logical for me to hang out as late as I could at Mamaks.

More importantly, food was the cause of my body being at a Mamak place. Plenty of my favorites that I love love love can be found there. There’s roti canai, nasi lemak, nasi goreng, biryani, murtabak, tandoori chicken, naan, tosai, mee goreng, teh tarik and many other jargon sounding food names that I think I ought to stop bombarding your brains with. Don’t worry. You’ll soon get to know and meet them.

Today is tandoori chicken day. This is something that I’d always get at a Mamak stall. At least that was the case before I knew how easy it was to make these babies right in my own kitchen. Usually, either chicken breasts or chicken thighs are used, but this time I’ve decided to go with chicken wings.

There’s nothing quite like tandoori chicken really. Smoky, roasted chicken with bold flavors marinated in yogurt & aromatic spices. Traditionally cooked in a tandoor (clay oven) but can also be prepared on the grill or in this case, the oven. Tandoori chicken along with soft garlic cheese naan and a vibrant mint chutney, let me tell you this, take outs will be a thing of the past.

PS: If you’re wondering it isn’t red, well, that’s because there’s no food coloring. Don’t worry, the flavor’s not a single bit affected.

My last post: One pan Spanish Rice & Chicken

Have you been to a mamak? No, I wasn’t asking to you Malaysians.

Tandoori Wings & Garlic Cheese Naan                   Makes 28 wings

what you need:

2 1/2 lb chicken wings about 28 wings and/or drumettes

Garam Masala: Makes 3 tsp (you’ll only need 1 1/2 tsp)
5 cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 small onion
1″ ginger
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbs oil
1 tbs lime juice
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Click here for the recipe for No Knead Garlic Cheese Naan

Mint Chutney
1 1/2 cups fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 green chili pepper
1 small onion
1/4″ ginger
2 garlic cloves
3 tbs plain yogurt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp lime juice
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
Water to dilute a little if desired

directions:

Tandoori Wings
1. Garam Masala: Lightly toast the cardamom pods and whole cloves in a pan. Using a mortar and pestle, pound them into fine powder. Mix it with the remaining ingredients for the garam masala.

2. In a blender, add the onion, ginger and garlic. Blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Pour the onion paste over the chicken wings. Add the garam masala, coriander, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, paprika, yogurt, oil, lime juice, salt and black pepper. Combine well and let the chicken marinate for 4 hours to overnight.

3. Place the wings on a greased baking sheet in a preheated oven at 450 F. Roast for 20 minutes, flip the wings and roast for another 20 minutes. If you desire, change the setting to broil and broil the wings for a couple minutes more until charred to your liking. Serve immediately with lime wedges, naan and mint chutney.

Mint Chutney
1. Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Notes:

1. You can always replace the wings with chicken breasts or thighs. Adjust cooking time and temperature if doing so.