Chicken Tandoori Recipe
Chicken on the bone, marinated in yogurt and spices, then baked in Indian clay oven. Served with rice.
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Ingredients
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Marinade & Chicken
Rice
Garnish & Serving
Method
Marinade & Chicken
- 1
Prepare the chicken
Trim excess skin and fat from the chicken pieces. Using a sharp knife, make 2–3 deep slashes through the thicker parts of each piece (these allow the marinade to penetrate and the chicken to cook evenly). Pat the pieces dry with paper towels.
- 2
Make the marinade
In a large bowl combine the plain yogurt, lemon juice, ginger paste and garlic paste. Whisk until smooth. Add Kashmiri red chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric, crushed kasuri methi, salt, ground black pepper and vegetable oil. Mix thoroughly until evenly blended.
- 3
Marinate the chicken
Coat each chicken piece thoroughly with the marinade, pushing some marinade into the slashes and under the skin where possible. Transfer the coated pieces to a shallow dish or zip-top bag. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight (8–12 hours) for best flavor and color.
- 4
Bring to room temperature & preheat oven
Remove chicken from refrigerator 30–45 minutes before cooking to take the chill off. Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F). Position a rack in the middle of the oven and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil; place a wire rack on top of the sheet so heat circulates around the chicken (this mimics the tandoor).
- 5
Roast the chicken
Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on the wire rack, leaving space between pieces. Reserve any remaining marinade for basting (do not reuse marinade that has touched raw chicken unless boiled). Roast at 230°C (450°F) for 20 minutes.
- 6
Baste & finish cooking
After 20 minutes, baste the chicken with melted butter and flip pieces so they brown evenly. Roast another 8–12 minutes until the skin is nicely charred in spots and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 75°C (165°F). If you want extra char, switch to broil/grill on high for 2–4 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning.
- 7
Rest
Remove chicken from oven and let rest 5–10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute before serving.
Rice
- 8
Rinse and soak (optional)
Rinse the basmati rice under cold water until the rinse runs clear to remove surface starch. Optional: soak rice in cold water for 20–30 minutes then drain — this shortens cooking time and yields longer grains.
- 9
Cook the rice
In a medium saucepan, heat ghee or oil over medium heat. Add the bay leaf, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon stick and toast 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the drained rice and stir to coat the grains with fat for 1 minute. Pour in 3 cups water and 1 tsp salt, bring to a brisk boil uncovered. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer gently for 12–15 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
- 10
Fluff
Turn off heat and let rice rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove lid, discard whole spices, and fluff rice gently with a fork before serving.
Garnish & Serving
- 11
- 12
