This Tandoori chicken recipe is better than any restaurant version you’ve ever had and it’s homemade.

To make the Tandoori chicken at home, we first let the chicken parts soak in a marinade made with yogurt, a variety of curry powders, and lime/tamarind.

This tandoori marinade is going to let the chicken parts lock in all the flavors to give you moist, juicy chicken parts you can enjoy with family and friends.

What is Tandoori chicken?

Chicken Tandoori(Chicken tandoor) is named after the specially shaped oven in which food is cooked.

Naan and chicken are the most popular Indian recipes to come out of a Tandoor oven.

What to serve with homemade tandoori chicken.

• Serve with any type of easy rice dish.
  • To start with, here’s a post on how to cook rice on a stovetop.
  • Serve with simple yellow rice or ghee rice.
• Serve with some garlic naan bread or stovetop naan bread.
• Serve with roti paratha or egg paratha.
• Serve with grilled or roasted vegetables for a lighter meal.
• Serve with a salad, cucumber salad, pineapple salsa, pineapple slaw, classic coleslaw or a potato salad.
  

Curries to serve with Tandoori chicken.

• Potato korma, spicy Bombay potato,
• Green peas and cashew curry.
• Sri Lankan cashew curry.
• A simple apple stir-fry or a Sri Lankan apple curry are a great options for this Indian grilled chicken recipe as well.

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Tips on making Tandoori chicken at home.

• Spices for the Tandoori marinade– always use fresh spices and curry powder for maximum flavor.
• Although a few hours of marination absorbs the spices and flavor into the chicken, if possible, try to do an overnight soak, this will allow the tandoori marinade to work its magic with the spices and flavors.

• Add less or more yogurt/curd to the marinade– the more curd you use the lighter the marinade becomes in color.
  use the yogurt/curd as needed. For this recipe, I have used less of it hence the deeper and darker colors.
• Make sure to mix the curd/yogurt well into the tandoori marinade to avoid lumps.
• Make extra tandoori marinade– I usually make extra to brush on to the chicken as it bakes/grills.

• Use an extra-large bowl to marinate the chicken that also fits into the refrigerator and cover with cling film.

• If you have a hard time finding Indian spices. you can try my homemade garam masala recipe, use a coffee grinder to grind the spices.

• some of you might be tempted to make tandoori chicken without the skin, although it’s possible, I would suggest baking/grilling with the skin on.
  I find the skin prevents the chicken from drying out. the skin helps to retain its moisture despite the high baking/grilling heat.

• Always taste the marinade once its done, our tastes are different, increase or reduce seasoning as per your need.

Your frequently asked questions answered.

• What chicken parts can I use?
  • You can make tandoori drumsticks, tandoori chicken breasts, and even tandoori wings.

• How many chicken parts per person?
  • I chose to have a whole portion of the leg, as a single serving per person. for adults, I would suggest two pieces.

• What substitute can I use instead of food coloring to give the tandoori chicken it’s distinct color?
  • Kashmiri chilli powder and parika are great substitutes.
    You can get a deep red color by adding either of these. the level of spiciness doesn’t increase.

• How long does it take to make the tandoori chicken?
  • If you are preparing these for dinner, say serving at 8.00 pm, you’ll need to start at least 4-5 hours.
    • 30 minutes prep, 2-3 hours marinating, 30 minutes to reach room temp, 1 hour to bake.
    • Don’t worry about the chicken being dry, once baked you can keep them on the baking pan with the juices it lets out, just coat the chicken with it, warm the dish for a few minutes and serve.
• Reader’s comments and questions about oven-baked tandoori chicken.
• Hello, love This Recipe. I’m planning to make it this weekend. Can you tell me why you remove the skin from the chicken? Is it necessary to remove it?
  • The recipe doesn’t ask you to take off the skin but to the fat which you’ll find in the chicken part, these are lumpy, white in color. it’s clearly mentioned in the recipe, the skin prevents the chicken from burning, it actually burns off while baking. hope this helps.

More Indian chicken recipes

• Chicken Chettinad.
• Chicken 65.
• Indian chilli chicken.
• Chicken vindaloo

Storage– refrigerate and consume within 2 days.
Freezing-You can freeze tandoori marinated chicken parts but I would avoid freezing baked/grilled chicken parts.
Stop food waste-shred any leftover tandoori chicken and use as filling for wraps, sandwich filling or to make quick fried rice.

Utensils and appliances needed.
Chopping board/knife or a cleaver.
A medium sized-bowl to make the marinade.
A coffee grinder or spice grinder if you are making your own spice powder.
A roasting or baking tray.

Tandoori chicken recipe(oven-baked).

reipe difficulty- easy

2 tablespoons of minced ginger(substitute with ginger powder)
2 tablespoons of minced garlic(substitute with garlic powder)
1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1 tablespoon of coriander powder
2 tablespoons of chili powder(use Kashmiri chili powder or paprika for reduced heat but more color, refer to tips above)
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1/2 cup of Yogurt
2 tablespoons of tamarind juice or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt( add more if needed)
1/4 cup oil to be used as needed
6 Whole chicken thighs washed with skin on

Method

How to make the tandoori paste.

To a medium-sized bowl,
Add minced ginger(2 tbsp, substitute with ginger powder), minced garlic(2 tbsp, substitute with garlic powder), turmeric powder(1 tbsp), cumin powder(1 tbsp), coriander powder(1 tbsp), chili powder(2 tbsp, substitute with paprika or Kashmiri chilli powder, refer to tips above), garam masala(1 tbsp), salt(1/2 tsp)
Stir the yogurt to smooth and then add to the spice mix.
Add lime or tamarind juice(2 tbsp)and oil(2 tbsp).
Combine well until you have a smooth paste, taste the tandoori marinade and make adjustments.

Place the chicken on a flat surface, use a sharp knife to make deep long cuts on both sides of the chicken leg and thighs.

Brush or toss the chicken in the tandoori paste.

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Use a cling film to cover the dish and refrigerate, for best results you can leave it overnight or marinate for 2-5(refrigerate).

Once you are ready to bake it, take the marinated chicken half an hour earlier and let it reach room temperature.

Line a baking tray with foil.

Preheat the oven to 200c, Place the marinated tandoori chicken, skin side up on the tray.

Brush leftover marinade mixed with some oil.
Set baking time for 45 minutes.
Bake for 25 minutes with the skin side up.

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And then flip the chicken, repeat the process of brushing the tandoori marinade and bake for the next 20 minutes.

Flip the baking chicken over to skin side up again.

Brush a tablespoon of oil and broil for 5 minutes at 200C in your oven.

How to grill Tandoori chicken.

You can also grill the Tandoori chicken over an outdoor grill, make sure to brush oil on the grate, shake off any excess marinade before grilling both sides. baste oil and marinade while grilling each side.
It should take you about 20-25 minutes. Insert a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the chicken, it should read 165F.

Serve warm using the side dish ideas given above.

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It’s free and on the blog, for you to try anytime.

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