Restaurant-Worthy Tandoori Chicken (Oven Baked)
Tandoori chicken is a popular north indian dish of chicken marinated in yogurt & spices and then grilled in a tandoor.
Ingredients
- 4-5 chicken leg quaters quarters (or use bone in drumsticks or thighs) skinless (Weight after skinning 1248g)
- Oil for brusting or spraying while cooking
- Melted butter as needed for brushing on tandoori right after cooking
First marinade
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder (mild) or paprika
Second marinade
- 2 tablespoon pure mustard oil substitute with melted ghee
- ⅓ cup (92g) plain whole milk greek yogurt or use thick yogurt/hung curd
- ¾ tablespoon fresh ginger paste or minced
- 1.5 tablespoon garlic paste or minced
- 1-1.5 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1-2 tablespoon cashew paste optional, skip for nut free (soak 10-12 cashews in water and grind to smooth adding water as needed)
Spices (Substitute the below spices with 1-2 tablespoon of your favorite store bought tandoori spice blend)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
- 1.25 tablespoon kashmiri chili powder (mild) lends the color (or use degi mirch for medium heat + color in one go)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon black salt kala namak
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- 1.5 teaspoon kasuri methi dry fenugreek leaves
- red food color as needed, if you want restaurant like look(does not affect the taste), optional
For Serving
- chaat masala powder sprinkling on top
- Sliced Onion
- Lemon Wedges
- Green Chutney
- Sweet Tamarind chutney (imli chutney), if desired
Instructions
Chicken Preprepation
- I purchase chicken from american super markerts, and remove the skin myself. To do so, I simply grap the loose end of skin using a piece of paper towel and pull it off. It's easy!
- Next, using a sharp knife make deep cuts in the chicken. This step is super importart to make sure that the marinade gets a chance to penetrate the meat.
- - Make 2 deep cuts on the thigh portion meat side.- Then, 1 deep cut on the top side of drumstick. - Flip the leg quarter and make a cut on the underside of the drumstick meat.- - A small cut on the side of joint where the drumstick and thigh are attached (see arrow in the image in post)
First Marination
- Place chicken in a large bowl. Pour lemon juice,and sprinkle salt and kashmiri chili powder. Using your hands, thoroughly rub everything all over the chicken making sure that it gets in the deep cuts you made. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour and proceed to make the tandoori marinade.
Prepare Tandoori Marinade (Second Marination)
- In a medium bowl, add the thick yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, all the ground spices, black salt, cashew paste (if using) mustard oil, and salt. Sprinkle the crushed kasuri methi.
- Whisk everything very well untill a thick & smooth paste is formed. Taste and adjust the salt or spices if needed. The marinade should be sharp salty right now. Add food color (if using) as needed to adjust the color of marinade.
- Refrigerate it for 30 minutes (if you have time, else use rightaway) to allow the flavors to mingle together. Your tandoori marinade is ready!
- Add tandoori marinade to the chicken leg quarters. Use your hands (wear gloves to prevent reddish hands) to coat the chicken pieces fully with the marinade. Slide your thumb and fingers inside the deep cuts to coat in marinade.
- Cover the bowl with a cling film and let marinate refrigerated for 18-24 hours (at least). This long marination is really really important. The longer you marinate, the better the flavors and the chicken tenderizes. You could marinate up to 2 days in advance.
- Cover the bowl with a cling film and let marinate refrigerated for 12-18 hours (at least). This time of marination is really important. You could marinate up to 2-3 days in advance. The longer you marinate, the better the flavors.
Cook Tandoori Chicken - Oven Method
- Pull out the chicken from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before cooking to bring it closer to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line the bottom of a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminium foil for easy cleanup. Place a wire rack over the lined baking sheet (easy cleaning!) and brush the rack with oil to prevent sticking.
- Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. Open the oven, flip the chicken pieces, and brush with bit more of oil. Don't skimp on oil- it keeps your chicken moist in high heat of the oven.
- Continue baking for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature: 165°F on a meat thermometer). Adjust time as needed depending on meatiness and size/weight of chicken pices.
- Once baked, set the oven to broil at 550°F. Flip the chicken so that meat side is up again. Broil for 5-8 minutes, or until the meat is slightly charred. Immediately brush melted butter on the broiled chicken to keep it moist and flavorful. Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve.
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken
- Preheat your air fryer to 375°F for 3 minutes. I use a 6 qt air fryer, which fits about 2 leg quarters at a time.
- Line the air fryer basket with a liner or brush the bottom with oil to prevent sticking.
- Arrange chicken pieces, meat side up in a single layer in the basket such that they do not touch. Spray ½-1 tablespoon of oil over the chicken pieces.
- Air fry for 18-22 minutes, flipping the chicken pieces midway, using tongs. Air fry until the chicken looks charred and the meat starts loosening from the bone—this indicates it’s done. Remember: Cooking times may vary depending on your air fryer, chicken quality, weight and size. Adjust timings based on your equipment and experience with your appliance.
- Towards the last 1-2 minutes, for added char, bump the air fryer to 400F.
- Brush the air fried tandoori chicken with melted butter and serve immediately with chaat masala, sliced onion, and lemon wedges.
Ways to Smokiness In Tandoori Chicken (Use any one of the Method)
- Broiling - As written above. Few minutes under the broiler char the chicken surface to create crispy and smoky areas. Just a heads-up—keep the kitchen windows open because the smoke alarm might go off!
- Over Direct Flame - This method works great for boneless tandoori chicken skewerd on metal skewers. Hold the skewered, cooked tandoori chicken over your stove flame. You have to be careful here to not let the chicken burn as well as about the oil dripping(if any). Rotate the chicken evenly for minute or so to develop charred black spots on all sides. This methods really enhances its smoky flavor.
- Use Charcoal (Dhungar)Light a small piece of natural lump charcoal or briquettes until red-hot.Place cooked tandoori chicken in a heat proof dish, with a small foil or steel bowl in the center.Place the hot charcoal to the bowl and drizzle with ghee or oil to create smoke.Cover immediately and let the smoke infuse for 1-2 minutes. Avoid smoking for longer else the tandoori becomes bitter.Discard the charcoal and enjoy the smoky tandoori chicken!
Video
Notes
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