Tandoori Chicken Recipe (Smoky Restaurant Style)

Tandoori Chicken at its best! This easy Indian recipe helps you make incredibly tender, juicy, moist, smoky and outrageously delicious Tandoori Chicken. This mind-blowing way of grilling chicken is immensely popular in the Indian restaurants & is known as Tandoori Murgh. It is eaten with Cilantro Chutney or Mint Chutney. Indian food lovers keep going back to the restaurants time and again, not knowing it is the simplest that can be made at home.

In this post I share how to make the best Tandoori Chicken in numerous ways – using an oven, on stovetop Griddle, air fryer and on direct fire. If you are new to the dish you may be wondering

About Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken is a popular Indian dish where marinated chicken is grilled to perfection in a Tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. As a first step chicken is marinated overnight with various spices, herbs and yogurt.

This marinade helps to tenderize, spice and flavor up the chicken. It is later grilled in a Tandoor. Traditionally the heat for a tandoor is generated by wood fire or charcoal. As the food cooks in this clay oven, the juices drip on to the hot charcoal and release a smoky flavor. The resulting char grilled chicken is the best – tender and juicy with bursting flavors.

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Sources say Tandoori chicken dates back to the Mughal period. While others say it was invented at Moti Mahal, Peshawar by Kundan Lal Gujral, before the partition of India. However it is beyond the scope of this post so let us enjoy making this amazing dish at home.

Wondering how to make Tandoori chicken without having a tandoor?
Any kind of heat source is good enough to grill/roast the chicken – an oven, stovetop, air fryer or direct fire. We are going to roast the chicken to perfection in one of these ways.

How do we infuse the smoky aroma into the chicken?
It is simpler than you think, you can infuse the smoky flavor either by smoking the grilled chicken with a red hot wood coal or cook it over direct fire for a few minutes towards the end.

What you need & Substitutes

Basic Ingredients for marinade

• Chicken: Use large portions of cut-up skinless & bone-in chicken like thighs, drumsticks, quarters (hind quarters). If you are serving a large group you can also use skinless whole chicken. On occasions I have also made tandoori with chicken breasts and they work too.
• Yogurt: Traditionally thick strained yogurt known as hung curd is used to make the tandoori marinade. It is similar to the Greek yogurt but with better flavor. You can’t use homemade runny yogurt because it is not thick enough to hold on to the chicken. Use Greek yogurt or make your own hung curd from this recipe.
• Ginger garlic: Ginger and garlic paste is used for a punch. You can make your own from this ginger garlic paste post or fine grate fresh ginger and garlic in equal quantities. Avoid using them in minced or chopped. Minced won’t impart the same flavor as the paste or grated.
• Salt: You may use kosher salt, sea salt, Himalayan salt or a mix of your regular salt plus kala namak/ black salt. If you are using chaat masala, avoid using kala namak. It adds a pungent flavor that’s unique.
• Oil – fats: Traditionally mustard oil is used but you may use any neutral cooking oil of choice. Oil locks some of the juices in the chicken and prevents it from drying out.

Tandoori Spices

• Tandoori Masala (Spice blend): Markets are flooded with premade tandoori spice blend which are loaded with unnecessary artificial colors and preservatives. So I make my own spice blend which I have shared below. It basically requires garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper, chili powder and turmeric. Chaat masala is another ingredient you can use if you have it. It adds great aroma to the marinade.
• Red chili powder: Avoid food coloring, you actually don’t need it. Using Kashmiri red chili powder is crucial to a tandoori marinade, for its vibrant red color, flavor and heat. It is basically a low heat chili that imparts red color without making your dish too spicy. But if you want a spicy hot tandoori chicken, brush with chili oil which I have mentioned in the recipe below. If you aim to get a smoky flavor, try substituting half of the Kashmiri with smoked paprika.
• Kasuri methi: These are dried fenugreek leaves and are considered to be the king of Indian herbs. Even a small amount of these will elevate your Tandoori Chicken from good to best. There is no substitute to this and you may simply omit them if you don’t have.
• Chaat Masala: Optionally I love to add a bit of chaat masala which again elevates your tandoori chicken to the next level. It is a mix of several spices used in the garam masala plus amchur/mango powder, kala namak/black salt and asafetida (hing). It is highly impossible to replicate the store bought versions at home so use it from the stores if you have and feel free to omit if you can’t find.

More Chicken Recipes
Chicken Tikka Masala
Butter Chicken
Easy Chicken Kebab
Chicken Tikka Kebab
Chicken Shawarma

Photo Guide

How to make Tandoori Chicken (Stepwise Photos)

Prepare Marinade

1. Greek yogurt also known as hung curd is the key ingredient used in the marinade. It is nothing but curd that has been strained of all the whey/liquid. If you do not have Greek yogurt, please check this link to make hung curd. To a mixing bowl, add the following ingredients:

• ½ cup Greek yogurt (hung curd)
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or use ¾ tbsp each grated)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (more if you prefer)
• 1 to 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or use paprika or a smoked hot chili powder, use 1 tsp for low heat and 2 tsps for high heat)
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper crushed (powder)
• 1½ teaspoon coriander powder (daniya powder)
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (or use ¼ teaspoon each sea salt & black salt/ kala namak)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 1½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

2. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon amchur powder/mango powder or half teaspoon chaat masala. Be careful not to add a lot. Use as required depending on how sour your yogurt is.

3. Pour 1½ tablespoon oil as well. Any cooking oil or neutral oil like avocado, grapeseed, refined coconut oil works. In India, mustard oil is used for a unique flavor. If you want you may use it or any other cooking oil as per your preference.

4. Mix well and taste test the marinade. Add more salt or spices to your taste preference. The marinade has to be thick as shown in the picture and should not be runny. A runny marinade will let out moisture to the pan and the chicken won’t hold the spices well.

Marinate Chicken

5. Pat dry the chicken with kitchen tissues. You can use ½ to ¾ kg (1.1 to 1.5 lbs) chicken thighs or legs or quarters. Next make deep slits into the chicken.

6. Marinate the chicken well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to overnight. Do not cut down the resting time as it won’t give you the same results. You can keep this as long as 48 hours in the refrigerator.

7. To make the chili oil for a spicy version, mix together 1 tsp red chili powder with 1 to 2 tbsps oil or simple melt 1 tablespoon butter.

Roast Tandoori Chicken in Oven

8. Roast in Oven – Preheat the oven to 470 F – 240 C for at least 15 to 20 mins. (If using a smaller oven like a OTG, preheat at 430 F – 220 C). Prepare a baking tray with a foil for easy cleanup. Place a wired rack over it, spray/grease oil on the rack. Place the prepared chicken (with a thick marinade) over the wired rack. Bake for 12 to 15 mins, baste with leftover marinade or with chili oil or melted butter and turn the chicken to the other side. Check at 12 mins mark.

Bake for another 12 to 15 mins. Move the tray to the top rack and set to broil mode for 3 to 4 mins, until you get charred spots. Adjust the timing as needed depending on the size of your chicken and oven. If your oven does not have a broil mode, move the rack to the top most level and roast until slightly charred for 3 mins.

To check if the chicken is cooked through – an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part should read 165 to 170 F (75 C). If you want to smoke the chicken jump to the next section.

Stovetop method – Grilling in pan

9. Heat a pan/ skillet. Spread 1 to 2 tbsps oil.

10. When the oil turns hot, place the chicken on the skillet/pan. Regulate the heat to medium.

11. After 3 to 4 minutes turn the pieces. Apply the marinade and turn them after 3 to 4 mins.

12. Meanwhile add red chili powder to a small bowl. Mix it with the oil. This is optional. Smear that to the tandoori chicken.

13. Cook them, regulating the flame as required until they are cooked through. When the chicken is cooked through, prick it with a fork to see the meat fall off the bone easily (a sign of chicken being cooked). An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part should read 165 to 170 F (75 C). 

Smoking Chicken (without tandoor)

14. This step is also optional. Hold a wood coal chunk with a tong over a candle or gas stove until really red hot. It takes about 3 to 4 mins. When it turns hot, drop it in a steel or disposable aluminium cup. Immediately pour half teaspoon ghee or neutral oil over the hot coal. It will begin to smoke immediately. Cover the skillet or the baking tray with a lid or aluminium foil and let smoke for 5 to 7 mins.

Lastly, brush the Tandoori chicken with the drippings or with melted butter. Serve with Cilantro Chutney or Mint Chutney alongside sliced onions, carrots and lemon wedges. If you want to extend your menu, have Turmeric Rice , Onion salad and Cucumber Raita.

Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken

• Preheat the air fryer to 390 F or 200 C. Place the chicken on the basket and air fry for 10 mins on each side or until cooked through and the internal chicken temperature reaches to 165 F.
• Once done, brush the tandoori chicken with the left over marinade or the red chilli paste mixed with oil. Air fry for another 2 mins. For the authentic flavors, brush with mustard oil or butter.

Grill in Outdoor Grill

• Preheat the outdoor grill for medium high heat.
• Grease the grate generously with oil. Wipe off the excess marinade from the chicken and place them over the preheated grill.
• Cook for 5 to 6 mins and turn them the other side. Baste the marinade on the top side and turn it again after 5 to 6 mins. The cook time depends on the size of your chicken pieces.
• It takes about 27 to 30 mins to cook the Tandoori chicken fully. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken and cook until it shows 165 F or 75 C. Brush with some butter or mustard oil.

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