This restaurant-style tandoori chicken | t andoori murgh is juicy, succulent, and absolutely delicious. Learn how to make the best tandoori chicken with this step-by-step recipe.
WHAT IS TANDOORI CHICKEN?
Tandoori chicken, one of the most popular Indian food, needs no introduction. This spicy, smoky, hot, yet delicious, and succulent chicken marinated with the signature tandoori masala paste and cooked in a tandoor (hot clay oven) is what make tandoori chicken so good!
HISTORY OF TANDOORI CHICKEN
Tandoor cooked chicken actually dates back to the Mughal period. This delicacy was the main course of the enormous Indian feasts of that day.
Other stories of its origins have arisen, such as the one below: A man named Kundan Lal Gujral ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Peshawar before the partition of India. Trying out new recipes to keep his patrons interested, Gujral tried cooking chicken in tandoors (clay ovens) used by locals until then to cook naans (bread).
The tandoors are bell-shaped ovens, set into the earth and fired with wood or charcoal reaching temperatures of about 900 degrees F. Gujral was able to cook the tender chickens in these ovens making them succulent inside and crispy outside.
After the partition in 1947, Punjab was partitioned with the Eastern portion joining India and the Western, Pakistan. Peshawar became part of Pakistan and Gujral found himself one among many refugees fleeing the rioting and upheaval by moving to India. He moved his restaurant to Delhi in a place called Daryagunj.
The fame of Tandoori Chicken led to many derivatives like Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, commonly found in menus in Indian restaurants all over the world. {Source – Indiamarks }
TANDOORI MARINADE
The tandoori chicken marinade is a mixture of thick yogurt (hung curd), ginger paste, garlic paste, lemon juice, and tandoori chicken seasoning | tandoori masala which is nothing but a mix of cumin, coriander, Kashmiri red chilli powder, and garam masala powder. Traditionally, mustard oil is used in this marinade. It is heated to smoking point, then cooled and added to the marinade. Mustard oil has a pretty strong, and characteristic, pungent taste. You may make use any neutral, flavorless oil instead.
These days ready-made tandoori masala spice mix is available everywhere. So you can definitely make tandoori chicken using tandoori masala powder. Simply add the ginger garlic paste, yogurt, oil, and lemon juice. That’s about it for your tandoori masala paste.
This tandoori marinade is definitely one of the best Indian chicken marinade recipes for grilling. If you are a vegetarian, use this marinade for gobhi (cauliflower), potatoes, paneer etc
You can use the same marinade to make tandoori salmon, tandoori prawns/shrimps, or tandoori lamb. For lamb, you may need to add a tablespoon or two of raw papaya paste or use a meat tenderizer. Add salt accordingly as the meat tenderizer already has salt.
HOW TO MAKE TANDOORI CHICKEN AT HOME?
The secret to a good restaurant-style tandoori chicken lies in the marinade itself. The yogurt tenderizes the chicken making it juicy, and succulent. An overnight marination time yields the best results, so plan ahead, it is totally worth it.
How to marinate tandoori chicken
The marination is done in two steps. Once with some lemon juice, Kashmiri chilli powder, and salt. The second marination is done with some more lemon juice, Kashmiri chilli powder, along with ginger garlic paste, spices and yogurt.
Traditionally, skinless chicken thighs are used to make tandoori chicken, and that’s what I’ve used for today’s recipe as well. But you can make tandoori chicken breast or even whole roasted tandoori chicken. Only the baking times will vary.
I understand it is not possible to own a conventional tandoor, though electric tandoors are pretty much available commercially now. It boasts of results comparable to the traditional tandoor. As much as I’d love to own one, I’m seriously running out of counter space, so that is not even an idea to consider 🙁
There are a couple of ways you can still make chicken tandoori without a tandoor ,
- Oven baked chicken tandoori – Today’s recipe is just that! I’ve given all the details below. The oven temperature used here is 400 degrees F, I turned on the broiler for the last few minutes to achieve that charred look.
- Stovetop tandoori chicken – If you don’t want to turn the oven on or don’t have one, you can still make tandoori chicken over the stove top. Use a regular skillet or a grill pan. Grease the pan with oil and a little butter, cook the chicken for about 90 seconds on one side, flip and cook the other side. Keep flipping and basting with ghee or butter in between a couple of times until the chicken is cooked through.
- The best alternative would be to make tandoori chicken on a charcoal grill or a gas grill. It would be close to the authentic thing, especially if done over a charcoal grill.
Even if you opt for the stove top method, you can still induce the smoky flavor in the cooked chicken by the ‘ dhungar ‘ method. Here’s how- Heat a small piece of charcoal directly over the flame until it turns red, transfer the charcoal with tongs into a small steel bowl or aluminum foil. Place the cooked chicken in a deep bowl, and place the bowl with hot charcoal over the chicken, drizzle some ghee or melted butter over the hot charcoal, it will begin to emit smoke. Cover the bowl for around 5-10 minutes, depending on how smoky you like it. This works like a charm for other tandoori dishes like kebabs such as seekh kebab, chicken kalmi kebab, chicken tikka etc or curries like dal makhani, dal tadka!
WHAT MAKES TANDOORI CHICKEN RED?
The restaurants add a red food coloring to the marinade, just as they do for butter chicken curry. I avoid the food color, since the Kashmiri red chilli powder that I use in the marinade adds a nice red color minus the heat.
SAUCE TO GO WITH TANDOORI CHICKEN
Cilantro (coriander) mint yogurt sauce, cucumber raita, or a simple green chutney made with cilantro and spices complement the hot and spicy tandoori chicken really well.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH TANDOORI CHICKEN?
Basically, in India, there are two different ways of serving tandoori chicken. There is tandoori chicken dry, well basically it is not dry, but called so because it is served without the masala aka curry. Then there is tandoori chicken gravy | tandoori chicken curry sauce , in which the tandoori chicken pieces are coated with a spicy sauce, which is a very basic Punjabi onion tomato curry base.
I like serving tandoori chicken with some fresh naan, or some turmeric spiced pulao, lots of thinly sliced onions mixed with some lemon juice and chaat masala, served with some more lemon or lime wedges, along with the sauces that I have mentioned above. Makes for a finger-licking delicious meal.
Tandoori chicken masala curry would pair well with any flatbread like roti, paratha, tandoori roti, naan, kulcha or with any kind of Indian rice, like cumin rice, pilaf’s etc
If you are looking for an authentic tandoori chicken , look no further! This is the best tandoori chicken recipe I’ve ever tried, and I’m sure you will enjoy it too 🙂
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE INDIAN TANDOORI CHICKEN IN THE OVEN
1.Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs, and thighs.
2.Apply the ingredients listed for the first marinade all over the chicken and set aside for half an hour.
3.Add the ingredients listed for the second marinade in a small bowl. Mix well
4.Add the marinade to the chicken and rub this mixture well all over the chicken, marinate for three to four hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
5.Place a wire rack over a baking tray. Grease the wire rack with oil/oil spray. Or transfer the chicken to a baking tray lined with an aluminum foil, greased with oil. Bake at 400 F for about 45 minutes or until cooked through, basting with oil in between. If you are not using a wire rack, flip the chicken halfway through.
6.Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.
NOTE
1.To get that charred look, I turned on the broiler during the last few minutes.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST TANDOORI CHICKEN?
Tandoori Chicken Recipe | How To Make Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 1.25 lbs chicken thighs, (2 chicken thighs)
For the 1st marinade
- 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp Salt or to taste
For the 2nd marinade
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt/hung curd
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 tsp red chilli powder/cayenne pepper, adjust as per desired heat
- 1.5 tsp Garam masala
- 2 tbsp Mustard oil/vegetable oil
Other ingredients
- 1 tsp Chaat masala
- Oil, as required for basting the chicken
Instructions
- Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs, and thighs.
- Apply the ingredients listed for the first marinade all over the chicken and set aside for half an hour.
- Add the ingredients listed for the second marinade in a small bowl. Mix well
- Add the marinade to the chicken and rub this mixture well all over the chicken, marinate for three to four hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place a wire rack over a baking tray. Grease the wire rack with oil/oil spray. Or transfer the chicken to a baking tray lined with an aluminum foil, greased with oil. Bake at 400 F for about 45 minutes or until cooked through, basting with oil in between. If you are not using a wire rack, flip the chicken halfway through.
- Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.
Notes
ENJOYED THIS TANDOORI MURGH | INDIAN TANDOORI CHICKEN? THEN DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THESE POPULAR INDIAN TANDOORI DISHES MADE WITHOUT A TANDOOR AT HOME.
Malai chicken tikka
Hariyali chicken tikka
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Regards,
Freda
Recipe slightly adapted from here .
Tandoori Chicken Recipe | How To Make Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs chicken thighs, (2 chicken thighs)
For the 1st marinade
- 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp Salt or to taste
For the 2nd marinade
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt/hung curd
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 tsp red chilli powder/cayenne pepper, adjust as per desired heat
- 1.5 tsp Garam masala
- 2 tbsp Mustard oil/vegetable oil
Other ingredients
- 1 tsp Chaat masala
- Oil, as required for basting the chicken
Instructions
- Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs, and thighs.
- Apply the ingredients listed for the first marinade all over the chicken and set aside for half an hour.
- Add the ingredients listed for the second marinade in a small bowl. Mix well
- Add the marinade to the chicken and rub this mixture well all over the chicken, marinate for three to four hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place a wire rack over a baking tray. Grease the wire rack with oil/oil spray. Or transfer the chicken to a baking tray lined with an aluminum foil, greased with oil. Bake at 400 F for about 45 minutes or until cooked through, basting with oil in between. If you are not using a wire rack, flip the chicken halfway through.
- Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.
Notes
So today we decided on having some Mexican cuisine for lunch, chicken quesadilla with corn salsa and guacamole was the clear winner. I marinated the chicken overnight, it makes whipping up a meal for lunch real quick. I first had these at a wonderful Mexican restaurant, and absolutely loved all the gooey cheesy goodness. It was also the first time I had tres leches cake, that was the most amazingly moist cake that I have ever had, can’t wait to try baking that at home soon enough!
I feel the Stuffed P aranthas are pretty much an Indian version to the Mexican quesadillas. It’s nice to see how some cuisines are so similar, with a totally different name. Here’s how I made them
Ingredients 6 tortillas ( I used ancient grains sprouted tortilla)
Mexican 4 blend cheese as required
For the chicken marinade:- 1 pound chicken breasts/thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 teaspoon red chilly powder/ cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 & 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder/ garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper to season
For the vegetable preparation:-
1 green bell pepper/ mixture of tri colored bell peppers, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to season
Preparation:
- In a bowl, add chopped chicken chunks and all the spice powders listed under ‘ chicken marinade’ , mix well, cover with a cling film and let it marinate for about 2 hours to overnight. 2. In a skillet , heat about 2 tablespoons oil, add the marinated chicken pieces , and cook until done. Keep aside. 3. In the same skillet, heat more oil if required, add chopped garlic, sauté for a few seconds until the raw aroma of garlic is gone. 4. Add the sliced onions, sauté until translucent. 5. Add sliced green bell peppers, sauté for another minute, retain the crunch. Add cilantro, salt, and pepper and toss everything together. Set aside. Assembling the quesadilla:
- In the same skillet, heat gently 1/2 tablespoon butter, place one tortilla on the pan, spread shredded cheese, add chicken and vegetable mixture, sprinkle more grated cheese on half of the tortilla. 2. When the bottom turns crisp, and the cheese starts to melt, flip it over gently, and let the other side cook. 3. Cut into wedges, serve hot.
Notes:
- Instead of the spices mentioned, you may use taco seasoning instead, or any other seasoning of your choice or you may also use any meat of your choice, the options are limitless.
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Regards,
Freda
