Tandoori Chicken Recipe

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Tandoori Chicken is a smoky, spicy, and flavor-loaded classic Indian dish. It is usually made with chicken legs, drumsticks, thighs, or full chicken that is marinated overnight in a special yogurt spice marinade and grilled to perfection. The recipe I have shared here shows you how to make Tandoori Chicken with easy step-by-step instructions for you to try and enjoy at home.

I have also shared a detailed video of this recipe below to make the cooking process simple and clear. This Tandoori Chicken can be baked or grilled in an oven, air fryer, or on the stovetop. It is usually served with different biryani, pulao, and naan, or with dipping sauces like raita, mint or coriander chutney. And the best part is you could serve it as an appetizer or main course for lunch and dinner.

Tandoori Chicken in a black bowl with rice, lemon and onion slices.

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What is Tandoori Chicken?
Ingredients
Tandoori Chicken Marinade
How to make Tandoori Chicken?
Calories
Tips
Can I make Full Tandoori Chicken in Oven?
How can I make Tandoori Chicken in an Air Fryer?
Storage Suggestions
Serving Suggestions
Related Recipes
Tandoori Chicken Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
FAQ

What is Tandoori Chicken?

Tandoori Chicken is a smoky, spicy, and flavor-loaded Indian dish. It is usually made with chicken legs, drumsticks, thighs, or full chicken that is marinated overnight in a special yogurt spice marinade. Then the marinated chicken is grilled to perfection in a high-temperature oven. It is then served with biryani, pulao, naan, yogurt dip, or mint or coriander chutney for lunch and dinner.

The traditional Tandoori Chicken is usually grilled in a cylindrical clay oven called Tandoor. Making the dish in Tandoor delivers the authentic smoky and charred flavor to your chicken. And it was first introduced by Kundan Lal Jaggi and Kundan Lal Gujral, founders of Moti Mahal Restaurant, New Delhi.

Even though the classic dish is made with Tandoor, you can make similar tasting Tandoori in your own space using the oven, grilling pan, or air fryer. The marinade, marination time, and grilling temperature are the keys to achieving the traditional tasting dish.

Also, some people prefer to infuse the smoke of the charcoal into the grilled chicken for a smoky flavor. But here I haven't used any since the chicken delivers a similar charred taste when grilled at the perfect temperature. So without further delay, let's see how to make this delicious Tandoori Chicken at home.

Ingredients

The ingredients you will need to make this Tandoori Chicken are basic Indian pantry elements and they all should be easily available in most Indian grocery stores around. So let's check out what are they below.

Chicken - Usually thighs, drumsticks, and leg quarters are preferred for making Tandoori, but you can also use breast and full chicken
Spice Powders - Basic seasoning spice powders like Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, and black pepper powder
Ginger Garlic Paste - Delivers good aroma and taste to your chicken
Mustard Oil - It is a strong, and pungent flavor oil with a high smoke point. It delivers a delicious flavor to your tandooris and tikkas
Hung Curd or Greek Yogurt - You can either hang regular curd with muslin or cheesecloth to make thick hung curd or use Greek Yogurt. Both deliver the same thickness and mild sourness to your marinade
Lemon Juice - For a zesty and citrusy punch to your dish
Kasoori Methi - They are savory, nutty, and mildly bitter dried leaves popular in Indian cuisine. It delivers a fresh and unique aroma to your dish

For a detailed ingredients list, please check out the recipe card below.

Tandoori Chicken Marinade

Tandoori Chicken Marinade is one of the important factors in making the best Tandoori. So what is in Tandoori Chicken Marinade? It is nothing but a thick yogurt-based spice marinade with bursting flavors. The marinade is usually made with thick yogurt called hung curd (Greek Yogurt), mustard oil, kasoori methi, and other spice powders.

First, the Kashmiri chili powder is blended in mustard oil, and then it is mixed with yogurt and other spice powders. Mixing the mustard oil with chili powder delivers a vibrant natural red color to your Tandoori. But you might find the Tandooris from restaurants are too red, and that is due to the addition of red food coloring.

On the other hand, I have to tell you about the hung curd for making a thick marinade. Hung curd is nothing but a Greek Yogurt, also called strained or drained yogurt. Usually, the whey from the curd/yogurt is completely drained to make a thick yogurt. It is easily made at home by hanging the plain yogurt in a muslin or cheesecloth to drain out all the water from it. Using this thick yogurt makes much difference compared to regular yogurt in making your marinade.

How to make Tandoori Chicken?

The recipe I have shared here is a classic Tandoori Chicken, a popular Indian dish. This Tandoori Chicken is made with fresh tandoori chicken marinade. Even though the authentic dish is made in a clay oven called tandoor, here I have shared how to make it in an oven and grilling pan. I have also shared instructions to make it in Air Fryer that I hope will help you to enjoy it at your home.

Following are the high-level instructions to make this recipe but for detailed step-by-step instructions with photos and video, please check out the recipe card below.

Prep Chicken

Slit - Make a deep cut or slashes using a sharp knife on the chicken leg quarters, thighs, or drumsticks. If you are preferring to make tandoori with a whole full chicken, you can also make deep cuts near the breast, thighs, and legs

Prepare Marinade

Whisk - In a wide bowl, pour mustard oil and add 1 tsp of Kashmiri Chili Powder. Mix well using a spoon or hand whisker. Doing this gives a natural deep red color and unique aroma to the chicken
Combine - Now add the thick curd, and other ingredients mentioned in the ingredient list above. Combine everything well

Marinate Chicken

Coat - Now add the chicken leg quarters, thighs, or drumsticks into the marinade bowl. Coat the chicken pieces well with tandoori masala marinade
Rest - Close the bowl with a lid and rest the chicken for at least 5 to 6 hours. You can also marinate it overnight for the best results in the refrigerator

Tandoori Chicken in Oven

For Basting - In a small bowl, add 1 tbsp of mustard oil and 1 tsp of Kashmiri chili powder. Mix well and reserve it for later use for basting the chicken
Place - Now place the marinated chicken leg quarter on an oil-greased baking tray with a wire rack
Bake - Grill the chicken in the preheated oven at 400°F for about 15 minutes
Bast - After 15 minutes, open the oven door and brush the chicken legs with chili oil that we have prepared already. Close the door and resume cooking for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked well. You can also switch the baked mode to grill mode for the last 5 minutes for a charred and smoked flavor. (Note: Always make sure to check the chicken using a thermometer whether it has reached the safest minimal temperature of 165° F recommended by FDA.)
Remove & Serve - Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven. Now the oven-grilled Chicken Tandoori is ready for you to taste and enjoy

Tandoori Chicken on Grilling Pan

Brush Oil - In a Grilling pan with medium heat, brush 1 tbsp of cooking oil and place the marinated chicken legs
Cook - Cook the chicken leg quarters for 5 to 7 minutes
Flip - Flip the chicken legs and bast them with chili oil and cook for 5 to 7 minutes
Repeat - Flip legs to the other side and bast them with chili oil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat the process of flipping and basting the chicken until it cooks thoroughly. (Note: Always make sure to maintain the heat of the pan from moderate to medium heat to ensure the chicken legs are cooked evenly.)
Remove - Remove the Chicken from the pan and now it is ready for you to taste and enjoy

Calories

This Tandoori Chicken that I have shared here contains 395 calories per serving and it is an estimation by the nutrition calculator. The calorie count may change if you have extra add-ins. You could also find detailed nutritional information in the recipe card below.

Tips

Chicken Cuts - Usually thighs, drumsticks, and leg quarters are preferred for making tandoori, but you can also use breast and full chicken. If you would prefer to make them using breasts then I would recommend seeing our oven-baked chicken breast for clear instructions. You can just replace the seasoning used there with tandoori chicken marinade easily
Greek Yogurt or Hung Curd - Using a thick curd like Greek Yogurt or Hung curd makes the best marinade for Tandoori Chicken. So please check the detailed information under Tandoori Chicken Marinade to make the best dish for your family
Resting Time - Marination and resting time is one of the important factors in achieving the best tandoori chicken, so I would recommend at least resting them for 5 to 6 hours in the refrigerator
Temperature and Time - The temperature and time usually vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces, so I would always suggest checking the internal temperature for an evenly cooked chicken
Stovetop Method - I would recommend being cautious to maintain the correct medium temperature while making Tandoori on stovetop grilling for a flavorful and best tandoori chicken

Can I make Full Tandoori Chicken in Oven?

If you would like to make Tandoori with full whole chicken then I recommend seeing our recipe for Roasted Whole Chicken already here in this blog. I would suggest just swapping the marinade used for roasted chicken with the Tandoori Chicken Marinade used here. Then, follow the same remaining process suggested for the roasted chicken recipe.

How can I make Tandoori Chicken in an Air Fryer?

Yes, you can definitely make this Tandoori Chicken in Air Fryer. Following are the steps to make it in Air Fryer.

To make that, prep marinade and marinate the chicken leg quarters overnight or at least 5 to 6 hours in the refrigerator
Preheat the Air Fryer to 400° F for 5 minutes. Once the alarm beeps open the basket and oil spray it
Now place the marinated chicken leg quarters and close the basket and set the temperature to 380°F and time to 30 minutes. Close the basket and cook the chicken for the first 15 minutes
After 15 minutes pause the air fryer and open the basket. Now brush the chicken with chili oil on both sides of the chicken and cook for the remaining 15 minutes. Once the alarm beeps, let it sit for 5 minutes. Then open the basket and remove and serve it with your preferred sides. (Note: Always make sure to check the internal temperature of the cooked chicken to be at least 165°F. It is the recommended safest temperature to consume poultry suggested by FDA)

Note: The temperature and time shared here are for medium size chicken leg quarters. And it may vary for other parts of the chicken. So always please read your Air Fryer instructions for playing with temperature presets for making the process simple and easy.

Storage Suggestions

Even though Tandoori tastes great when served warm, you can store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a day in a closed container. Reheat them in a microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes until they are heated evenly.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this lip-smacking Tandoori Chicken with different biryani recipes such as Mughlai chicken biryani, basmati rice, Mexican rice, brown rice, along with Butter Chicken and naan, or with classic onion slices, lemon wedges, raita, and mint coriander chutney.

To make it a completely healthy meal, serve it with roasted vegetables like roasted broccoli, roasted green beans, roasted carrots, brown rice, or salads. You could also serve it along refreshing mango lassi, lemonade, or with fresh lemon juice.

You could also find similar Indian recipes below and more at chicken recipes and roasted & baked meat recipes.

You could also find Grilled Salmon, and Paneer Tikka if you are looking for different kinds of grilled recipes.

Tandoori Chicken Recipe Video

I have also shared the detailed video of this Tandoori Chicken Recipe below that I hope will help you make an Indian restaurant-style dish at home. You could also find this recipe in a story format.