1. Chicken starter dishes tend to dry after cooking because water is not used in the dish preparation. To retain its moisture, you need to brine the chicken properly. Here “brine” means a simple process needs to be followed before the actual cooking starts. Specially if you are using chicken breast, they tend to dry after cooking, so make sure to brine it before cooking. You just need Salt,water and minimum 45 minutes to 2 hours to brine the chicken. Soak the chicken in salty water and keep inside the refrigerator and  you will definitely notice the difference.
2. If you want chicken to be very soft and fasten the cooking time then make sure to marinade  the chicken with vinegar or lemon for an hour.
3. To give a tandoor flavor you need to char them a little while cooking and do not forget to add charcoal smoke. It will give you the best flavor out of it. (Below is the cooking details)
4.  Do not over-crowed your pan while cooking or else you won’t be able to flip them easily and they will not cook properly.

5. Ingredients: (1 cup= 240 ml approx.)

   • Chicken- 500 grams
   • Butter/oil- 2 tbsp

   To brine the chicken:

   • Water- 2 cup
   • Salt- 1 tbsp
   • Vinegar- 2 tbsp
     
     

     To marinate the chicken:

     • Curd- 1/4 cup (how many tablespoon?) thick (If you are using homemade curd then hang it for couple of hours to remove excess water)
     • Kashmiri red chili powder/Paprika- 1 tbsp
     • Yellow red chili powder- ½ tsp
     • Turmeric- ¼ tsp
     • Pepper- ¼ tsp
     • Ready-made Chicken masala/all spices- 1 tbsp (here I have used meat masala)
     • Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp
     • Amchur/dry mango powder- ¼ tsp (If you can use lemon juice instead of mango powder)
     • Oil- 2 tbsp
     • Butter- 1 tbsp
     • Salt- as per taste
       
       

       To give tandoor flavor:

       • 1 big piece of charcoal

       To Brush up:

       • Melted butter – 1-2 tbsp
       • Red chili- 1 tsp (or you can adjust the quantity as per your taste)
       • Mix these two ingredients well and keep them aside.

       For garnishing

       • Onion- 1 small, Sliced
       • Lemon- 1, Sliced
       • Coriander- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

       For garlic-curd dip

       • Curd- ½ cup (if you are using homemade curd then hung it for few hours to remove excess water from it)
       • Garlic- 1 tsp or 5 cloves , very finely chopped
       • Honey- ½ tsp (optional)
       • Spring onion- 1 tbsp, very finely chopped
       • Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp, very finely chopped
       • Pepper- ¼ tsp
       • Chili flakes- 1 tsp
       • Salt- ¼ tsp
       • Extra virgin olive oil- 1 tsp (optional)

        

       How to make:

       Preparing the chicken: To brine and soften the chicken

       1. Soak the chicken in water, vinegar and salt solution for at least 30-60 minutes inside the refrigerator. For better result brine it for 2-3 hours.
       2. Wash the chicken and wipe it off with paper towel (if chicken is moist then spices won’t stick well)
       3. Slit chicken 4-6 times as per the size.

       Note: You need a simple brine here, especially if you are using chicken breasts, because it tends to dry out very quickly. Braining will help to retain its moisture and make it soft.

       Marinating the chicken:

       1. In a bowl add chicken and all ingredients from “marination” list.
       2. Mix and well coat the chicken. Now cover it and keep it inside the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes.

       Cooking process:

       1. In a pan (should be thick bottom one) add oil and butter. Let it melt and combine together.
       2. Then add marinated chicken and keep the flame on medium-low.
       3. You can cover it and cook for 5 minutes. Then flip and cook another side.
       4. Keep flipping and cooking until marinade dries up.
       5. In between brush those pieces with red chili and butter mix so the chicken will get nice colour and shine. It will also help the outer skin to char. You can use few drops of food colour if you wish in marination process.
       6. It will take around 20-30 minutes to cook properly.
       7. Now remove it from the pan and put it in a deep bowl.

       For Tandoor/Smokey flavor:

       1. Burn a charcoal on gas stove for few minutes.
       2. Once it’s nice and red then put it in a small steel bowl and keep it inside the deep bowl where you kept the chicken.
       3. Put few drops of ghee and cover it with lid immediately. Make sure not to lose the smoke from the bowl.
       4. Let it absorb for 2 minutes. Then remove the lid and place them in a serving dish.
       5. Serve it hot with curd-garlic dip, onion slices and lemon slices.