Twice-Cooked Mock Tandoori Chicken

Step 1

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Put chicken in a deep roasting pan.

Step 2

Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in the ground spices and cook until just fragrant, no more than a minute. Stir in the yogurt, then spread mixture over chicken. Cover and put in oven; bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. (You can prepare chicken up to a day ahead; if you are not going to grill or broil immediately, put whole pan in refrigerator after it cools down a bit.)

Step 3

Light a charcoal or gas grill or heat broiler; rack should be about 4 inches away from heat source. Remove chicken from yogurt sauce, scraping away any excess.

Step 4

Grill or broil over direct heat, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp and charred and meat dries out a bit, about 15 minutes total. Serve hot or at room temperature.