Name: Duck, Duck, Tandoor!
Ingredients: 1 wild duck or chicken (If it’s chicken remove the skin. The skin can be left on the duck as it’s quite crispy and delicious out of the tandoor, and not greasy or fatty like a domestic duck.); 1 3/4 cups of full-fat yogurt; 1 Serrano chili; Juice of 1 lemon; 4 shallots or garlic cloves crushed; 2 Tbs sesame oil; 2 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1-inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped; 1 tsp Kashmiri chili (mix equal parts of cayenne and paprika to get an equivalent taste); 1 tsp turmeric; 1 large onion; 3 tsp apple cider vinegar; Red and yellow food coloring (optional)

Ingredients

Scale

1 wild duck or chicken (If it’s chicken remove the skin. The skin can be left on the duck as it’s quite crispy and delicious out of the tandoor, and not greasy or fatty like a domestic duck.)
1 3/4 cups of full-fat yogurt
1 Serrano chili
Juice of 1 lemon
4 shallots or garlic cloves crushed
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1-inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
1 tsp Kashmiri chili (mix equal parts of cayenne and paprika to get an equivalent taste)
1 tsp turmeric
1 large onion
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
Red and yellow food coloring (optional)

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Instructions

Blend the onion, garlic, or shallot, Serrano chili, and ginger together in a food processor.
Add in the yogurt, sesame oil, and vinegar.
Add in the turmeric, cumin, Kashmiri chili, and coriander.
Make slits in the skin of the duck or directly into the chicken meat.
Salt the meat to taste.
Pour the lemon juice over the duck parts.
In a small bowl mix together red and yellow food coloring, until you get an orange tint, brush that on the duck.
Pour the rest of it into the yogurt marinade mixture, then put the duck in a glass, or stainless steel bowl. Pour the marinade over it.
Work the marinade into the meat.
Then put a lid on the container and refrigerate it overnight for cooking the next day.
The next afternoon, we fired up the old Homdoor Tandoor Oven. If you are using a tandoor oven, clean and oil your skewers. Do NOT poke yourself with them as it hurts, and no matter how many times I tell myself this it always happens, at least once I become a tandoor pin cushion.
Use small pieces of potato or onion to hold whatever you’re cooking on the skewers. Tandoor is not fun if everything you’ve marinated just slides right off into the purifying flames. Always place a stopper between the pieces of whatever you are cooking which helps it all cook evenly.
Notice the handy temperature gun. This is a great little device I think I paid about 15 bucks for and it tells you just how hot your fire is. You want that sucker to get to about 525, or 550 for cooking this dish.
When your temperature is ready, it’s time to load the skewers into the oven. The temperature is controlled by adjusting the lid and a small bottom draft door. The lid goes on partially covering the top of the oven to keep the heat in. Cook for about 7 to 10 minutes.
Check the progress during the cooking, you want to rotate your skewers every few minutes so the roast is even. When the duck is done, take it out of the tandoor.
Slide it off of the skewers carefully, without launching it into the neighbor’s yard for their dogs to enjoy. Plate it and serve it up.

Notes

Tandoor is generally served with a side of pickled red onion (find the recipe right there) lemon wedges, a mint and yogurt raita, and an Indian dried fruit salad with rosewater. This was delicious! I only wish we could have had friends and family over to enjoy it with us.