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Tandoori chicken is named for the traditional Indian tandoor oven in which the dish is cooked. A tandoor is a tall, cylindrical brick or clay oven used to cook foods over smoky, intense heat, usually at temperatures over 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The appealing color of this popular dish comes from the tandoori paste or coloring used on the chicken before cooking. We searched for tandoori dishes on Yahoo! and Epicurious
and discovered an appetizing variety of recipes -- cooked in an authentic charcoal-fired clay oven, baked at very high temperature in a conventional western oven, or adapted for the grill. But one ingredient surprised us -- red food coloring! There it was at the bottom of a list of mouth-watering ingredients. Skinless chicken is rubbed down or marinated with tandoori paste prior to cooking. The paste is a blend of traditional condiments and spices: tomato sauce, yogurt, ginger, garlic cloves, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, cloves, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, salt, saffron, and garam masala, a north Indian blend of dry-roasted spices. The red-orange
tint in genuine tandoori coloring comes from the ground annatto seed. When imported paste is not easily available, food coloring -- plain red, or, if you prefer, a blend of red and yellow -- is often added to the improvised mix. In addition to annatto seed, turmeric and saffron are often used in Indian cooking and lend a golden yellow coloring. Paprika and cayenne impart orangey-red tones. These spices serve as subtle alternatives to food coloring. Or, try tandoori paste in a jar for expert color.
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