Twice-Cooked Mock Tandoori Chicken - cooking recipe

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, skin and bone left intact
2 tablespoons peanut oil or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
4 -5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 inches piece ginger, peeled and chopped or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
chopped fresh chili peppers (optional) or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
3 cups plain yogurt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300\u00b0F Place chicken in a single layer in a 13x9\" baking dish, skin side up.
In a large skillet over medium flame, heat oil until it shimmers. Add onions, salt and pepper, and sweat onions until limp, translucent and just barely beginning to color, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook 2 minutes more, until very fragrant. Add coriander, cardamom, paprika, cumin and cayenne or chili (if using) and cook no more than 1 minute, until fragrant. Off heat, stir in yogurt, then pour over the chicken, spreading evenly. Cover with foil and bake 90 minutes, until chicken is barely cooked through. (May be refrigerated up to a day at this point; allow to cool slightly before storing the whole pan in the chill chest.).
Heat grill, grill pan or broiler to high. Remove chicken from yogurt sauce, scraping off any excess sauce. Grill, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp and charred and meat is heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature, with a side of cucumber raita.