Tandoori chicken, chicken marinated in intense spices and cooked in a tandoor or traditional oven till char cooked and turns juicy.
Tandoori Chicken Recipe
Chicken tandoor is a family favorite recipe. Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and cooked in a tandoor oven till charred. Juicy chicken with smoky flavour.
Table of Contents
About Tandoori Chicken
Tandoori chicken is the ancient method of roasting chicken marinated with spices and yogurt in Tandoor a cylindrical clay oven. Nowadays people are using Oven to roast the tandoor chicken.
The Benefit of Microwave oven is it maintains the target temperature for hours without the use of additional fuel after reaching the required temperature.
Tandoori chicken tastes like smoky and juicy by marinated with yogurt and Lemon mixed spices.
Ingredients for Tandoori chicken recipe
Chicken:
1 whole chicken cut into 10 pieces. It is not recommended to roast boneless chicken for Tandoori, because charring the outside of the chicken for an extended amount of time at high heat will dry out the chicken. The traditional way chicken used to roast in Tandoor is skin off
For Second Marination:
Thick Unsour Curd / Yogurt : Yogurt tenderize and soften the chicken than any other marinades It aids in the penetration of the spice flavours into the chicken.
Tandoori chicken is usually served with Naan, Chutney, Rice and Veggie salads.
How to Make Tandoori Chicken in Oven
- Take chicken in a bowl, make deep slits on them. Add salt, chilli powder and lemon juice to them and mix well. Leave this aside for 30 mins.
- Now take second marination ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour this over the marinated chicken and mix well.
- Leave this to marinate for 6 hours or over night.
- Next day, remove it and let it come to room temp.
- Preheat oven to 250 Degree C.
- Now place the chicken over a foil lined baking tray and pop it in oven for 5 mins, remove it and flip over, apply leftover marination over it if you have any and bake it for 5 more mins.Remove the tray from oven, apply ghee all over it.
- Now reduce the oven temp to 180 degree C and bake it for 10 more mins.
- Remove it and flip over and apply ghee all over it and bake it for 10 more mins
- Remove it and flip over and apply ghee all over it and bake it for 10 more mins.
- Now remove it and set aside. Mean time, increase the oven temp to 250 degree C and set the mode to grill.
- Place the tray near to the grill and cook it for 5 mins till you see some black spots over the chicken.
- Remove it from oven, give a final glaze with ghee and sprinkle some chat masala over it.
- Serve.
Tandoori Chicken Masala
Mix Yogurt, Chilli powder, Coriander, Cumin, Chat masala powder, Black pepper powder, Garam masala, Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic and Dried Fenugreek Leaves to create a thick masala for the tandoori chicken.
More Recipes
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook,Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter for more Yummy Tummy inspiration.
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR ANYTHING FROM YUMMY TUMMY, MAKE SURE TO POST IT AND TAG ME SO I CAN SEE ALL OF YOUR CREATIONS!! #YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI AND @YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI ON INSTAGRAM!
📖 Recipe Card
Tandoori Chicken | Tandoori Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- Chicken - 1 whole chicken cut into 10 pieces
- Butter or Ghee for Brushing on top
- Chat Masala for Sprinkling on top
- For First Marination:
- Chilli Powder - 1 tblspn
- Salt to taste
- Lemon Juice - 2 to 3 tblspn
- For Second Marination:
- Thick Unsour Curd / Yogurt - 1 cup
- Chilli Powder - 1 tblspn
- Coriander Powder / Malli Podi - 2 tblspn
- Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
- Chat Masala Powder - 1 tblspn
- Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
- Garam Masala Powder - 1 tblspn
- Turmeric Powder / Manjal Podi - 1 tsp
- Red Food Colouring a pinch
- Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tblspn
- Kasuri Methi Leaves - 1 tblspn
Instructions
- Take chicken in a bowl, make deep slits on them. Add salt, chilli powder and lemon juice to them and mix well. Leave this aside for 30 mins.
- Now take second marination ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour this over the marinated chicken and mix well.
- Leave this to marinate for 6 hours or over night.
- Next day, remove it and let it come to room temp.
- Preheat oven to 250 Degree C.
- Now place the chicken over a foil lined baking tray and pop it in oven for 5 mins, remove it and flip over, apply leftover marination over it if you have any and bake it for 5 more mins.Remove the tray from oven, apply ghee all over it.
- Now reduce the oven temp to 180 degree C and bake it for 10 more mins.
- Remove it and flip over and apply ghee all over it and bake it for 10 more mins.
- Remove it and flip over and apply ghee all over it and bake it for 10 more mins.
- Now remove it and set aside. Mean time, increase the oven temp to 250 degree C and set the mode to grill.
- Place the tray near to the grill and cook it for 5 mins till you see some black spots over the chicken.
- Remove it from oven, give a final glaze with ghee and sprinkle some chat masala over it.
- Serve.
Video

Tandoori Chicken Step by Step Images
![]() |
Take all your ingredients |
![]() |
Actually I forgot to make slashes before I added the first marination on. So make deep slashes first |
![]() |
Place the chicken over this |
![]() |
Time to bake |
![]() |
Remove it once half baked |
![]() |
Flip over |
![]() |
apply the remaining marination over this |
![]() |
Bake again |
![]() |
Now take some butter or ghee |
![]() |
Brush it over the chicken generously |
![]() |
Once it is all glazed with ghee |
![]() |
Pop it in oven and bake for few mins |
![]() |
I finally grilled it for 5 mins. Then I glazed it finally with some ghee and sprinkled it with chat masala.. |
Related Recipes
suba
If there was a better rating than five stars I would certainly give it to this recipe.
The taste is extremely flavorful,realllllly sooooooo tasty.
rajee
the taste is exactly like in indian restaurent. we enjoyed so much.
Sanhita
The temp setting that you are talking about... its 200F, right?
Francesca
Hi! Happy to know you and your beautiful blog!!
Biny Anoop
wow dear thats fab..i love wat u did with veggies at the ens so there is gravy as well
grEAT
never prepared that but i'd like to do. i've eaten itnonce in an indian restaurant in milano and liked it.
ciao
Anonymous
Hi yar, your presentation quiet good and spicy ... Its useful for beginners too that the measurement is accurate ... Your most dishes are healthy ingrediants and avail in kitchen which is invited for most.. Which is not harm health ... I prefer such healthy modern foods .... Thank u
Anonymous
Shall we prepare tandoori in normal frying pan ?
[email protected]
I made it in grill mode in my oven with top n bottom grills...result was fab.omitted d coloring n baking powder.what does baking powder serve as hre in tandoori chicken?please reply.
Anonymous
Hi Aarthi, your recipes turn out very well. And what makes it more interesting is the write up and pictorial tour. Way to go lady!
Aasia Rahman
Aarthi
@[email protected]Baking powder will make the chicken more tender and juicy
Anonymous
How to use this in grill mode?
Aarthi
@AnonymousJust set the upper rod of the oven and place the tray on the neared adjustable rack.
Anonymous
At first we should bake it and then in grill mode ,right?
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes..first bake then grill
vijitha katneni
Hi aarthi,
Lovely blog .. loving it more day by day.
Can u let me one wat is the oven u bought.. even I am also planning to buy :- )
Aarthi
@vijitha katneniCheck this post
https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2014/03/meet-my-ovens-ovens-which-i-use-best.html
Annu Kuruvilla
Wow.. Mouth watering dish... Which oven r u using?
Anonymous
luks perfect & yummy..
Aarthi
@Annu Kuruvillahttps://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2014/03/meet-my-ovens-ovens-which-i-use-best.html
Anonymous
Wow..it luks yummy...too gud..
Anonymous
Can i prepare tandoori in microwave. . Pls message me temperature details
Jeslin
plz tell us how to make chat masala at home.
Anonymous
Hi Aarthi, your recipes are too good . Can you upload the recipe for eggless mayonnaise
Aarthi
@AnonymousCook it for Same temp and same timing in microwave convection mode..
Nisa
Hi, Aarthi you said Preheat oven to 250C... then at wat temp we should bake? cos later you said increse your oven temp to 250C and grill...
Aarthi
@NisaSorry that is a typo.First you have to preheat oven to 220 degre C. Bake it at that..Later increase it to 250.
bashilathu nisha
Am gonna try tis..
bashilathu nisha
Am gonna try tis..
bashilathu nisha
Awesome recipes. . Gonna try one by one.. thx alot for sharing. ..
Tina Chahal
Thanks for this recipe. Looks yummy. Excellent pictorial recipe. I have never seen recipe demonstration such like yours. Truly Aarti, I have stopped checking recipes from other blogs and sites. 😊👏
Anonymous
Wow aarthi it looks so good 2mrw I m Gng to try this I was searching for tandoor recipe this is wht I needed thand u so much!
Madhu
Every thing went well until I placed chicken on a non- stick tawa. I backed for first 15min and took out the tawa to flip chicken pieces. There I see water at bottom of tawa and chicken became soft on that side. But I did not see any water in your tray and I used hung curd too. What went wrong ?
Aarthi
@MadhuIt depends on the chicken, it is not a issue, just keep on cooking. the water will dry out
Unknown
Hi Aarthi,
Thanks for the recipe. The pics are simply mouthwatering. I needed one clarification though. Can you tell me the approx. weight of the chicken ? Should I use these ingredients for 1 or 1.5 kg chicken ? Let me know.
Doreen
Aarthi
@UnknownUse this for 1.5 kg
Anonymous
Is it safe to use on grill this black colour baking tray which is of round shape and comes along with microwave with a combi mode and secondly my convection mode is only for 200 c max heating
Aarthi
@AnonymousI am not sure about that..haven't used microwave so far
plasterer bristol
Great recipe this, thanks for sharing this.
Simon
Divya A
Thank you so much for all your detailed recipes...I tried this dish n it was a great success. looking forward to more great recipes.
Divya A
Thank you so much for all your detailed recipes...I tried this dish n it was a great success. looking forward to more great recipes.
Swap
Hi your dish looks so yummilicious but I was wondering that marinated chicken is kept in the fridge or freezer??
Aarthi
@Swapstore chicken in fridge
smithi
Hi can we omit chat masala? Will it taste good after omitting?
Aarthi
@smithichat masala gives the nice flavour to the chicken, you can leave it out if u want
sana fathima
Hi.. should we bake with both elements on and fan option
Aarthi
@sana fathimayes
reena
Hi. Can I omit the butter and ghee in the end and replace with oil??
Anonymous
Hi arthi
can i use normal yogurt instead of unsour?
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes u can use normal ones
Aarthi
@reenayes u can use oil
Microwave Chef
@Aarthi
If you have convection mode on your microwave, you probably also have a grill mode. I put the chicken by itself on the high metal rack, so it sat just under the grill, and the black nonstick baking tray all the way at the bottom on top of the rotating glass plate to catch the drippings. Grill mode for 15 minutes on each side. The tandoori chicken turned out excellent!
Sarbjeet
hii aarthi....can we make tandoori chicken in electric tandoor???
Aarthi
@Sarbjeeti have never used one of those, but you can give it a try
dipti banjan
Wow I tried this recipe last evening..I added fried besan before cooking and it turned out yummy...thanks fr your easy nd quick recipes.
Anonymous
If we are to make this in a frying pan,what do i do with the oil and lemon base?
Aarthi
@Anonymousyou can brush it on top of the chicken when it is cooking
Anonymous
are these spices for 1kg chicken? I mean
1full chicken for 1kg approx?
azra
Aarthi
@Anonymousit is for 1 kg chicken
Chiminie
Hi I do not have an oven but was wondering if I can pan fry the marinated chicken instead? Thank you!
Aarthi
@Chiminiepan frying is possible.u can cook it on a low heat till it is cooked
Anonymous
Hi aarthi,it is the first time I am commenting on anything like this.but I have to tell you..I tried this recipe and it came out great..keep doing this greatjob...I love your cooking...and I pretty much tried all your chicKen recipes..
ninu narendran
In which mode this needs to be cooked on otg..? Grill or bake?
Aarthi
@ninu narendran you have to bake it
Jyoti Karakoti
your recipe looks so delicious nd blog also very nice..... 🙂 !!!!
Vinithahars
Can i cook this in charcoal grill instead of oven ?
dhravyarao rao
Will it be the same taste when cooked on tawa ? I do not have microwave here? So will it not stick to tawa
bharathi katari
Can I cook this grill or microoven
Aarthi
u need convection mode.
Annie Tebby
Can i fry this using a frying pan... I don't want to use oven thats why ? Is that possible.
Aarthi
yes u can use, but you have to cool it slow. so it gets cooked
sharmi
Hi, I did in the same way, but it did not turn roasted at all.Please let me know where I went wrong?
Aarthi
Once it is cooked. place the rack on the highesy setting and grill it for few mins, so it will gets nice and charred
Husna Fathima
Sis in which mode should we place the chicken after preheating.
Husna Fathima
Sis if I reduce the temp to 160 c then the red light turns on and off sis and red roses are not heating up.only in 220 and 250 the red roses are heating up .
Aarthi
not sure. can you check with your dealer. it may be a fault in your oven
Shaista
Yummy.... Thank you
Lakshmi Balakrishnan
Canse we use fresh cream instead of curd in this recipie?
Anonymous
Aarti this recipe is so so yum my .I have microwave convection model But i have the temp till 200 Shall i do this reciipe with this temp plz let me know.Btwn am happy to tell you i bought my oven by seeing your post "meet my oven"thank u much
Masha Allah
Thank you mam it turned out pretty well...Please share more otg based recipe
ronald
Wow I tried this recipe last evening..I added fried besan before cooking and it turned out yummy...thanks fr your easy nd quick recipes.Thank you so much for all your detailed recipes...I tried this dish n it was a great success. looking forward to more great recipes.
sharanya Doraiswamy
Wow.. I tried this for lunch yesterday.. Came out so good and better than the ones we get in restaurants.. Baked and grilled longer than the time mentioned as my pieces were big.. No other changes made.. Thumbs up for you and the receipe
Lilian
Hi..your recipe is very nice..i have made it twice and my husband loved it...had a question, can we make the tandoori without flipping it so many times?
Kerp up the good work..thanks a lot.
Varsha N
Hi Aarthi.. I tried your tandoori chicken recipe today and it was a big hit. Thank u very much the recipe. 😊 Very simple and tasty. Loved it.
Sameer
Hi, you made tandoori chicken looked so easy to cook, Thanks a lot
Kitcheninfo
This is absolutely, hands down the best tandoori chicken i've made it !!!! Thank you for giving step by step procedure.
This will definitely be a staple in our house!!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!! It’s simply fantastic!!
Keep posting yummy dishes