Below is a super simple recipe for chicken tandir with fabulous results. The preparation could hardly be easier.
TIME IS ALL YOU NEED… to simmer, simmer, simmer
You just need time up your sleeve for it to slowly cook on the stove top. If you have a soba heating up the house, then it’s perfect to sit the pot on top of it for this purpose.
CHICKEN TANDIR – The most succulent way to cook chicken
Our wood stove (soba) is only small and made for heating, not for proper cooking but it’s still possible to sit a pot on top and leave it to simmer away nicely. We consider this one of the tastiest ways ever to eat chicken.
TANDIR MEAT IS HIGHLY REGARDED IN TURKEY
In Turkey, tandir lamb and tandir goat are the most common types of tandir to see advertised out the front of restaurants. The places will have a dedicated wood fired oven where they place large chunks of meat, always still on the bone, in the oven to slowly cook over a whole day.
The aromas escaping these restaurants are more than tempting and it’s incredibly hard to just walk past.
I have to say that until I recently ate this chicken tandir dish, I had never heard of tandir chicken and the process by which we cook this. It’s absolutely nothing like Tandoori Chicken and it is quite dissimilar to that of tandir lamb or goat. However, the results are the same. Very juicy, very tender and so full of flavour.
I do urge you to try this recipe. You need to check on it now and then and make sure the water has not completely evaporated but it certainly does not need much more supervision than that.
By the end of the cooking, the meat will be falling off the bone and have a wonderful flavour. I like to serve it with Turkish rice and a simple salad.
- 4 large pieces of chicken with bones and skin in place
- 1 onion, peeled but not cut
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 Tbsp oil
- Make a cut in each piece of chicken to absorb the stock
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper
- Heat the oil in a shallow frying pan which has a lid
- Fry the chicken on both sides until golden, around 5 minutes.
- Making sure the skin side of the chicken is underneath, cover the chicken pieces with boiling water
- Add the peeled onion and the lemon juice to the frying pan
- Cover the pan with a lid, leaving it slightly ajar.
- Check on the chicken now and then to make sure it has not all evaporated, if so, add some water and try to put the heat down to a lower temperature
- After cooking for 2 hours the chicken will be super tender.
- Remove the onion and the lid and let it simmer on a medium low heat until all stock has evaporated, which will take about another hour
- When ready to serve, sprinkle on some thyme and serve with lemon wedges.
AND THE NEXT DAY…
Whilst already cooking some chicken over a long period, it may be worth considering doing extra for another meal the next day.
We bought a pack of lavaş breads (flat breads) and rolled up the leftover, juicy, tender chicken tandir meat that had fallen off the bone with a few slices of lettuce, pepper and tomato for lunch the following day.
Henrik went one further and added cheese as well. It was mouthwateringly good.
I did it!
Please let me know how it went! I do hope you enjoyed it.
Interesting – I always thought tandır was cooked dry – I will give this a go once the soba is fired up again.
You are completely right about tandır always being cooked dry, backtobodrum. This dish takes the name because in the end, it does create the same texture and truly brings out the flavour. I do hope you will enjoy it. In one way, I hope you don’t have to fire up the soba again before next autumn but in another way, I am hoping you get to discover how nice this dish is sooner!
The chicken was Wow! I enjoyed it, and there is still left for a week). The process really is a long one but the result is very tender and delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you Elena. I am very happy you enjoyed it so much. It’s a great idea making plenty since it takes such a long time to cook. It makes it really worthwhile! Afiyet Olsun!