The first thing you require for excellent tandoori chicken is a chicken leg piece. Just tell your butcher you need a tandoori chicken and he'll be more than happy to help. Take chicken legs cut from thigh and marinate them with lemon juice and salt as per your taste and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.

For the second marinade use of hung curd(just tie the curd in a muslin and hang it for 1 hour). ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder as per your taste and 1 tablespoon tandoori masala powder and 1 tablespoon mustard oil. The addition of mustard oil gives a unique smokey flavour to the chicken.

For tandoori masala powder I always prefer homemade masala powder and I will share with you all the recipe of homemade tandoori masala which you can make in bulk and gift your friends or store it in a jar for tikkas and tandooris you prepare henceforth at your home.

Ginger powder, garlic powder, nutmeg powder, red food colour, kasuri methi,, cloves, green cardamoms, black cardamom, black peppercorns, mace, cumin powder, coriander powder, 1 nutmeg powder. Dry roast the masalas together (leaving the ones in powder form already)together and make powder in a mixer grinder. Pass them through a sieve. Store in a tight jar.

After the second marinade let the marinated chicken pieces rest for 3 to 4 hours. Then baste it with butter dipped brush on all sides. Preheat your microwave oven at 180 degrees in convection mode for 30 t to 40 minutes or till done. You have to baste butter twice or thrice nicely in between and have to flip the chicken pieces so that they are evenly cooked well on all sides. Enjoy it with salads!