A lot of the recipes I’ve developed for the Indian Cookaway are inspired by the dishes I grew up eating as a child at my grandparents farm house in Punjab, which is an agricultural state in North India. We used to have a Tandoor in the middle of the backyard and I still remember watching fresh breads being cooked in it. Punjabi cuisine is known for its rich and robust flavours, generous use of ghee and tandoori-style cooking. Tandoors are traditional clay ovens and this style of cooking typically involves marinated meat, paneer or breads being cooked over an intense fire in a clay oven. Naans or Rotis are slapped on the inside walls of the ovens and marinated meat is lowered into the oven on long metal skewers and cooked in this smoky and extremely hot environment until juicy and slightly charred.

Tandoori Chicken is one of the most famous dishes that epitomises this style of cooking. I’ve used a traditional marinade recipe using flavourful ground spices along with my top tips to help you achieve authentic Tandoori flavours even when it’s cooked in an electric oven. The bright orange glow in this dish is from a special ingredient called kashmiri chilli powder. This chilli is commonly used in North Indian cooking especially in dishes that have an onion tomato masala or base as it has a high intensity of colour but is not too fiery. Like most marinades, if possible allow the chicken to marinate for a couple of hours so that the flavours can penetrate the meat. Another secret ingredient that helps bind the marinade together is gram flour or chickpea flour, also known as Besan in Hindi. Besan is made from ground chickpeas and always used in small quantities in marinades. Tandoori chicken is also the perfect dish to take to the BBQ in summer and is absolutely finger licking served with a fresh coriander mint chutney.