Tandoori Chicken

3 very young broiling chickens (about 2 to 2-1/4 pounds each)
2-1/2 teaspoons unseasoned natural meat tenderizer
1/3 cup lemon juice

FOR MARINADE:

2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon tandoori coloring, or 1 tablespoon paprika
1/3 cup plain yogurt
Usli ghee or light vegetable oil for basting


Cut the wings off the chickens. Remove the neckbone carefully. Place on
a cutting board and quarter them neatly. Remove the skin. (Reserve the
wings, neck, and skin for the stockpot.) Prick the chicken
all over with fork or a thin skewer. Make diagonal slashes, + inch
deep, 1 inch apart on the meat. Put it in a large bowl. Add meat
tenderizer and lemon juice to the chicken,
and rub them into the slashes and all over for 2 minutes. Cover and
marinate for + hour. Put all the ingredients of the marinade into the
container of an electric blender or food processor, blend until reduced
to a smooth sauce. Pour this marinade over the chicken
pieces and mix, turning and tossing, to coat all the pieces well. Cover
and marinate for 4 hours at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight,
turning several times. Chicken
should not remain in the marinade for more than 2 days, because the
marinade contains a meat tenderizer which, with prolonged
marinating,alters the texture of the chicken meat to very soft and doughy. Take the chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. The chicken is now ready to be either roasted in the oven or broiled over an electric or charcoal grill.

TO ROAST IN THE OVEN:
Start heating the oven to 500-550 degrees. Take the chickens out of the marinade. Brush them with the ghee
or vegetable oil, and place them on an extralarge shallow roasting pan,
preferably on a wire rack. Set the pan in the middle level of the oven,
and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through.
There is no need to baste while the chicken pieces are roasting, because the enclosed environment keeps the chickens from drying excessively.

TO BROIL INDOORS:
Preheat the broiler. Brush the grill with a little oil to prevent the meat's sticking. Place the chicken pieces, slashed side up, on the grill, and brush the slashed side with ghee or vegetable oil.
Cook 2 to 3 inches away from the heat for 20 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Brush often with ghee or vegetable oil during cooking.

TO GRILL OUTDOORS:
Fire the coal well in advance (about 1-1/2 hours before you are ready
to begin cooking), so that a white ash forms over the surface of the
coal. This is when the coal is at its hottest. Place the grill at least
5 inches away from the heat, and rub generously with oil. Place the chicken pieces, slashed side up, over the grill and brush them with ghee or vegetable oil. Let chicken
cook without turning for 10 minutes. Turn, baste the other side, and
cook for 10 minutes. Continue to cook, turning and basting the chicken
every 10 minutes, until it is done. The cooking time for broiling and
grilling usually varies widely. Much depends upon the intensity of the
heat and its distance from the chicken. The point to remember is that the chicken
pieces have been marinating in a very strong tenderizing solution for
two days and therefore will cook much faster than standard broiled or
barbecued chicken.