Air fryer Whole Tandoori Chicken
Learn to make a authentic moist, juicy and perfectly charred whole tandoori chicken in the air fryer. Perfect center piece to wow your guests! Serve cut up as an appetizer or for a main meal with delicious sides.
Equipment
- 8 qt Air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 (4.7lb/2.1 kg) whole chicken preferably organic
- 3-4 tablespoon Oil for basting
First Marinade
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice preferably fresh squeezed
- 1.5 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder or paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Tandoori Marinade (Second Marinade) [Makes extra]
- 1 cup yogurt use plain & whole milk yogurt (Use thick yogurt or hung curd, I use Greek yogurt)
- 1.5-2 tablespoon salt adjust to your liking
- 2 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1.5 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder (mild), for color, use paprika instead
- 1.5 teaspoon red chilli powder (hot), adjust to tolerance
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1.5 tablespoon super fine almond flour or cashew powder (optional, skip for nut free version)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1.5 tablespoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) crushed between hands, skip if not available
- 3 tablespoon mustard oil or use ghee
- ⅛ teaspoon red food color optional, I didn't use
To Serve
- Sliced Onion or Pickled Onion
- Lemon Wedges
- Green chutney
- Chaat Masala Tangy Spice Blend
- Any other sides you like
Instructions
PREPARE THE WHOLE CHICKEN
- If you are using frozen chicken, make sure that its fully thawed.
- Start by removing skin from the chicken. I only leave skin on the wings. Paper towels, a large sharp knife along with kitchen shears are the tools that you are going to need. Look up you tube tutorials on how to go about removing the skin from whole chicken.
- Once the skin is removed, rinse the chicken under running water. Pat dry using a paper towel. It is important for the chicken to be fully dry before you proceed else the marinade will slip off.Using a kitchen twine, tie up the chicken legs.
- Using a sharp knife, make cuts & slashes on the chicken breast, chicken thighs and drumsticks. Don't make too many or too deep gashes else the chicken starts tearing or losing its shape while air frying.
FIRST MARINATION
- In a small bowl, mix juice from ½ lemon (about 2-3 tablespoon lemon juice), 1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Using a brush or your hands rub this lemon mixture all over the chicken. Make sure to go inside the gashes, behind the chicken, inside the cavity and every nook and crannie.Tip - Wear gloves if you are using your hands to avoid staining or burning sensation from chilli powder.
- Leave the chicken to stand for 1-1.5 hours on the kitchen counter. If its summer time, place it in the refrigerator.
MAKE THE TANDOORI MARINADE (Makes extra)
- Meanwhile, to a large bowl, add all the listed tandoori marinade ingredients. Whisk together to make a smooth paste. This recipe makes about 2-2.25 cup of tandoori marinade. For marinating 1 whole chicken, we need only 1 + ¼ cup.
SECOND MARINATION
- Using your hands, rub the tandoori marinade all over the chicken, inside the cavities as well as the space between thighs and drumsticks. Be liberal with the marinade but make sure to not go overboard. Too much marinade will become wet while air frying.
- Place the marinated whole chicken in a large bowl or a tray, cover using a cling film and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. The longer you marinate, the better the flavors will be. You could marinate up to 3 days.Tip - Do not skip or rush the marination else the tandoori flavors would not develop.
AIR FRY THE WHOLE TANDOORI CHICKEN
- Next day, pull the marinated whole tandoori chicken out of the refrigerator atleast 1.5 hours prior to air frying. We don't want a cold chicken to go inside the air fryer, this will create temperature gaps and the chicken will become tough.
- I use 8 qt air fryer for this recipe. Spray or brush the rack of the airfryer with oil. This prevents the chicken from sticking.
- Place the marinated whole chicken breast side down on the rack. Spray or brushthe chicken all over with oil. Air fry at 360F for 40-45 minutes. Start checking around 40 minutes.
- Open the basket. Flip the chicken using tongs or soft spatula- whichever you are comfortable it. The chicken will be quite hot and soft, so please be careful while flipping.
- Slather a little more tandoori paste on the top of the chicken. Spray or brush with oil.
- Air fry again for another 10-15 minutes for full doneness. If using thermometer, when the internal temperature of chicken thighs and breast area reaches 165F, it is safe to be consumed.Note - Each appliance is different. You know your appliance better than me. Please use experience with your air fryer and adjust cooking time for doneness.
- Once the whole tandoori chicken is cooked through, it will have a charred spots all over it. You could air fry for extra 2-5 minutes if you like super charred look and texture.
- Carving Whole Tandoori Chicken - Pull the air fryer basket out, loosely cover chicken with an aluminum foil tent and let the rest for 15-20 minutes.Carefully, pick out the rested tandoori chicken and proceed to serving and slicing. Slide a sharp knife where the thigh connects to the breast portion of the chicken. You could serve the entire chicken quater or seperate drumstick from the thigh. Carefully slice off the chicken breasts and seperate from the bone cage.Cut the breast into slices before serving. Sprinkle with chaat masala before serving.
Notes
- Spice Levels-Please keep in mind that the taste of this tandoori chicken is intense and it has a kick of spices. Reduce the quantity of garam masala powder and red chilli powder (cayenne powder) if you prefer a milder taste.
- Skin Removal: Consider removing the chicken skin for authentic indian taste and texture of the cooked tandoori chicken. Removing the skin also allows the marinade to better adhere to the chicken meat as well as in better absorption of flavors by the meat.
- Use Thick yogurt - Else the marinade will get watery and wont stay on the chicken. The consistency of tandoori marinade should be thickish. In due course of time, the salt in the marinade and the moisture of chicken will play a role in the overall consistency. If after mixing you feel that the marinade is runny, add some roasted gram flour or cornstarch to thicken it.
- Marination Time - Allow enough marination time for better flavors. A good marination time also tenderizes the meat. I would not go any less than 24 -36 hours.
- Cooking Time - Please use the air frying times I have mentioned as a guideline. You will need to monitor cooking time depending on your air fryer brand, quality of chicken as well as the weight and size of the bird.
- As an appetizer - Serve tandoori chicken wth sliced onion or pickled onions, lemon wedges and green chutney (coriander chutney) for appetizer course. Srinkle chaat masala. For a sweet side, add a small bowl of tamarind chutney.
- Main Meal - Serve with warmed naan, side of basmati rice, or jeera rice or, mushroom pulao, egg pulao, biryani, kachumber salad (to add fresh crunch) and raita for a full meal.
- Grilled Vegetables: Grill or roast seasonal vegetables to serve as a side. The flavor of roasted vegetables complement the smokiness of the tandoori chicken.
- Potatoes - One of my personal favorite. Roast some potatoes simply with oil, salt and black pepper and serve as a side.
- In Salads- Shred cooled tandoori chicken and serve with spring greens, a drizzle of your favorite yogurt dressing or green chutney.
- Make wraps, rolls or tacos using different kinds of indian flatbreads like plain parathas or naan or homemade roti.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!