Tandoori chicken

Tandoori chicken is a chicken dish in Pakistani and Indian cuisine. It is prepared by roasting chicken marinated in yogurt and spices. It is prepared in the tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. 

Tandoori chicken has become popular in many other parts of the world. It can be served with other dishes, such as naan or rice.

Origin

 Harappan civilization 
The earliest proof for a dish like tandoori chicken comes from the Harappan civilization in 3000 BC, according to Professor Vasant Shinde, a famous archeologist and vice-chancellor of Deccan College.

Shinde's team has found ancient ovens at Harappan sites which are similar to the tandoors used in the state of Punjab. Archaeologists have also found physical remains of chicken bones along with burn marks. 

 Ancient ovens 
According to Sushruta Samhita, the meat was cooked in an oven (kandu) after marinating it in spices like black mustard (rai) powder and fragrant spices. 

According to Ahmed (2014), Harappan oven structures may have operated in a similar manner to the modern tandoors of the Punjab.

 Growing popularity 
Tandoori chicken started in the Punjab before the partition of India. In the late 1940s, tandoori chicken was made popular by Kundan Lal Jaggi and Kundan Lal Gujral at Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, New Delhi. They were Punjabi Hindus as well as the founders of the Moti Mahal restaurant. Mokha Singh had founded the restaurant in the Peshawar area of British India. It is now part of neighboring Pakistan.

In the United States, tandoori chicken started appearing on menus by the 1960s. It is reported that Jacqueline Kennedy ate "chicken tandoori" on a flight from Rome to Bombay in 1962.Matt Weinstock, "Strange Beast Puts the Bite on Robert" Los Angeles Times (15 March 1962): A6. A recipe for tandoori chicken was printed in the Los Angeles Times in 1963, for "the hostess in search of a fresh idea for a party dinner";"East Indian Cuisine Provides Inspiration for Hostesses" Los Angeles Times (14 March 1963): D6. a similar recipe was published in the same newspaper in 1964.Marian Manners, "A Flock of Chicken Dishes From Around World" Los Angeles Times (17 September 1964): D1.

References

Other websites

Category:Indian food
Category:Pakistani food
Category:Baked foods
Category:Chicken as food