This is an easy baked Tandoori Chicken recipe for everyone who happens not to have a tandoor sitting in the middle of your kitchen! Made with accessible ingredients from scratch, chicken is infused with flavour from a yogurt tandoori chicken marinade then baked until golden with little charred bits.
Finger lickin’ good!
Tandoori Chicken recipe
Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala or Tandoori Chicken?? Any outing to an Indian restaurant causes a crisis of indecision as we battle it out between these 3 wildly popular Indian chicken dishes!
There’s no denying that one of the reasons why we love Tandoori chicken is the signature smokey chargrilled flavour that can only be achieved in a clay tandoor built to withhold fierce charcoal heat.
But don’t worry, you won’t miss the chargrill flavour in this Tandoori Chicken recipe. My trick is to jack up the flavour of the marinade to compensate – we’re talking big, big flavours here!
Tandoori Chicken Marinade
Here’s what you need for the Tandoori Chicken Marinade.
Kashmiri Chilli is what gives Tandoori the signature red colour. Tastes like paprika with a bit of spiciness, you’ll need to hunt down an Indian grocery store for this. But don’t worry, paprika is a near perfect flavour sub! The chicken won’t be quite as red but will still have a red hue. You can easily increase the redness with a drop or two of red food colouring.
How to make it
The making part is very straight forward: mix marinate, add the chicken, then leave to marinate. 12 to 24 hours is best, or 48 hours. If you’re in a rush, then 2 to 3 hours will do the trick if you cut slashes into the chicken.
While this is a baked tandoori chicken recipe, it’s a ripper on the barbie too. And off the charts amazing if cooked over charcoal!
What to serve with Tandoori chicken
Here’s what I serve with Tandoori Chicken:
Saffron Rice– love the colour contrast! Recipe below. Though plain basmati rice will do in a pinch (or other rice of choice).
Minted Yogurt– the freshness of the mint and cool yogurt pairs so well with all things Indian. Recipe below.
Side Salad*– try this Indian Tomato Salad or use the same dressing with slices of cucumber. Otherwise, check out this South Indian-style Cabbage & Carrot Salad with Coconut. A simpler alternative is Everyday Cabbage Salad (it’s in the recipe notes).
Flatbreads – When naan is in hot demand, I reach for my Easy No Yeast Flatbreads. Because it’s not a saucy curry, I like to brush the flatbreads with garlic butter for extra flavour – SO GOOD!
* Fresh side salads are less common in Indian cuisine, vegetables tend to be cooked. So don’t get too caught up about an authentic fresh side salad – go with what you like! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Baked Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
Tandoori Marinade:
- 1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt (full fat best)
- 2 tbsp oil (any)
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp ginger , grated
- 5 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 tsp garam masala spice mix (Note 1)
- 1.5 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder (Note 2 subs)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder, adjust to taste (pure, not US chili Note 3)
- 1 tsp salt
Chicken:
- 1.2kg / 2.4lb drumsticks, bone-in skin on chicken thighs or Marylands (whole chicken legs) (Note 4)
- Oil spray
Mint Yoghurt (optional)
- 1 cup plain yoghurt
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, packed
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
Serving
- Basmati rice OR Saffron rice (see note)
Instructions
- Mix Marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken, cover and marinate 12 to 24 hours (Note 5)
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a tray with foil and place a rack on the tray.
- Remove chicken from the Marinade, shaking off excess (reserve Marinade), and place on the rack. Bake for 20 minutes, then slather Marinade generously on both sides.
- Bake for a further 10 minutes, brush/dab top with Marinade.
- Bake further 10 minutes, do a final baste with Marinade then spray with oil.
- Increase heat to 220C/450F. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until you get some nice charred spots. Serve with Minted Yogurt and Saffron Rice (below) or plain Basmati Rice.
Minted Yoghurt:
- Combine ingredients in a food processor and blitz until mint is very finely chopped.
BBQ Option:
- Preheat BBQ with closed lid to medium, brush grills lightly with oil. Place bone-in skin-on chicken skin side down on grills, cook 5 min until surface is just caramelised – no more.
- Baste, then flip. Baste, then close lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 175F/80C (bone in thighs and drumsticks), basting once or twice more.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published September 2015. Completely rewritten April 2019, new photos, new video, tidied up video and most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Final photo from Dozer’s birthday cake recipe from Monday – when I was trying to do a “nice” overhead photo of the cake and when he saw I was teetering on a ladder fiddling with my camera, he knew it was an opportune time to lunge in for ANOTHER slice!
Nagii is it okii to cook this on a gas stove by adding coconut milk n do it as a curry?
I have always thought you should NOT use the marinade that the food was sitting in- especially if it only cooks for an additional 10 minutes. Am I worried for nothing? I think I might just hold some of the marinade out to use for slathering on during the extra cooking.
With this recipe you can. All the marinade gets cooked – nothing seeps from the chicken into the marinade. It’s not the same rule as beef as beef ‘bleeds’ chicken doesn’t. I have had great success with this recipe and have it cooking in my oven as we speak! Kids love it! So do I!
Can I cook this without the skin? For dietary restriction purposes
Absolutely- I use skin free no bone in chicken thigh – works great!!
Hi Nagi
Could you do this recipe with French trimmed lamb cutlets.
Love your recipes.
Sarah
If I was making this for crowd could I do up to step 4 the day before and finish it off when the guests are all here the next night? Love your recipes.
Hi Mary! I’m always a bit funny about part cooking chicken. I would recommend cooking it until just cooked through (just cut into it to check) but before you get that lovely crusty brown bits. Then pop it into the oven to reheat and get those brown bits 🙂 N x
Marinating too long in yogurt also changes the texture of chicken, so I wouldn’t marinate it more than overnight or 12 hours.
This was good and interesting. So many wonderful spices that filled the house with a pleasant aroma! Was happy to find the garam masala at my local food store. The smoked variation of paprika was a nice touch. The repeated basting was a bit laborious but worth it. I just found that the chicken (drumsticks) took longer than specified to cook. Shared the baking pan with your Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes. Served with store-bought tzatziki.
I’m so glad you liked it Cynthia, sometimes bigger drumsticks can take slightly longer unfortunately – but so worth it in the end!
Hi Nagi. In which mode should I bake. I mean in convection, grill or combo.
Hi Reethi, I’d use convection – N x
Hey Nagi
I’m obsessed with your recipes! Thank you so much. I was thinking about doing this recipe with chicken wings. Would the cooking time differ?
Chicken wings would be great! Just adjust the cook time as they shouldn’t take as long to cook, reduce the time by 10 minutes or so ☺️
Using Mustard oil makes the flavours even more intense.
Can I use Greek yoghurt for the marinade?
Yes, perfect!
Hi, do you remove the skin from the drumsticks or keep it on?
Leave it on 🙂
That looks so good! I love to bake tandoori chicken as well as opposed to grill because I don’t know how to use my grill! Lol!
If I have found Tandoori Masala. Would you use that instead of garam masala and all the other spices? Would you still add grated ginger and garlic? It sounds delicious as you have it, but you mentioned that most places in India use the tandoori spice mix. I would like to try it like that too.
Hi Heather! It think I’d just use that in place of the other spices but still add ginger and garlic 🙂 YUM! N x
Hi Nagi!
I’m using thigh fillets, do you think best to cook in a pan, high heat, to get the good black bits(like in the masala)?
Or just bake like the drums on a higher heat?
I want the marinade to be crusted on them! 😋
Cheers!
I would absolutely pan fry if using boneless thigh!
Oh my goss Nagi. This meal was simply outstanding.
I can still taste the amazing flavours in my mouth.
I would give this 20 out of 10.
It was so easy to prepare. I must admit that I only marinated it for about five hours,but next time I will do it overnight.
The meal was sensational.
Thank you for your fabulous recipes.
There is never a dud.
I’m glad you enjoyed this Julie! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi,
This sounds delicious. You mentioned “Line a tray with foil and place a rack on the tray.” Do you meant place the tray on the rack? I am a little confused.
Also is there any substitute for parpika?
Hello Sarath,
I have travelled around 20 countries ansd have never found ground paprika difficult to find in local supermarkets.
(Sometimes called piment, or paprica piccante).
However, some people are allergic to paprika and chilli powder, in which case just leave it out of the recipe.
I hope this helps.
Hello Nagi, thank you for your great recipes. Do you have a substitute for garam masala please? It is not available in my country (Algeria).
Hello hahouyet,
Some years ago I went to a shop that sells electrical appliances and bought the cheapest, smallest electric *coffee grinder* , which i use exclusively for grinding spices. (Otherwise the coffee tasts horrible ! ! ! !)
Whizz the following ingredients:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons tumeric
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black loves
Add
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom seeds (not the pods !)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
This keeps quite well in a jar for several weeks
I hope this helps.
How can I make it a little spicier? I was thinking of adding 1tsp of chili garlic sauce?
Or cayenne pepper or pure chilli powder 🙂 N x
My chicken is marinating as we speak! Can’t wait to cook it and devour it! The smell of the marinade was enticing in itself! I’m also putting in some par-boiled potatoes in the marinade and letting them bake with the chicken. I know my crowd will love the both of them! I’m a Weight Watcher and this is an extremely friendly way of preparing chicken for me! I love the recipes we can all enjoy!
Hope you love it!! N x
How many SP’s do you think?
If you use breast pieces as well as legs and thighs, it’s extremely WW friendly. I just divide the amount of oil between the number of pieces, I use non-fat Greek yoghurt so that’s easy. You may only be looking at counting the oil if you have breast meat. I would have to enter it into the recipe part of my app to be precise.
I forgot to say that we never eat chicken skin so removing that was a given! I know there will be a change in taste but I don’t think we’ll miss it! Your recipe is wonderful though just as it is…
Great directions! I wish I had seen your recipe first! First recipe I used didn’t have oil for one and directions not so good. Use this recipe everone!! Thank you Nagi