You can use your home oven to bake succulent tandoori chicken. The homemade version is close to what you get at a restaurant and surprisingly easy to make.
I was surprised and delighted to learn you can bake a delicious tandoori chicken in a regular home oven. The traditional recipe is prepared by marinating chicken in yogurt and spices and roasting it in a tandoor, a traditional cylindrical clay oven. But using your home oven is easy and works well - the chicken emerges from the oven delicious and juicy.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Yogurt: Please use regular yogurt. Greek yogurt is too thick for a marinade.
- Fresh lemon juice: I highly recommend using freshly squeezed and not bottled lemon juice.
- Minced garlic: Mince it yourself, or use the stuff that comes in a jar. Both work.
- Spices: Turmeric, ginger, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Please make sure they are fresh. We're using a lot of spices. A stale spice can ruin a dish.
- Chicken: I use drumsticks and remove their skin.
- Cilantro or parsley: Used mostly for garnish, although it does add an additional layer of flavor.
Variation
You can use boneless chicken thighs instead of drumsticks, as shown in the photo below. Start checking on them after about 20 minutes - they will be ready faster than drumsticks.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Prepare the marinade: Mix plain yogurt with lemon juice and spices. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate it in the fridge for an hour.
Place the marinated chicken pieces on a greased roasting rack.
Roast the chicken until it's fully cooked and charred in spots, about 30-35 minutes in a 475°F oven. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Since we're removing the chicken's skin, it's important to coat it in a thick layer of a yogurt marinade to protect it from drying out, and it's also important to use whole-milk yogurt. You want the fat content of the yogurt to help keep the chicken juicy, and fat also makes food more palatable. If you only have nonfat yogurt on hand, mix in 1-2 tablespoons of oil.
- For best results, set your oven to high heat (475°F) and roast the chicken until charred in spots. This will ensure juicy and flavorful chicken even without the traditional clay oven.
- You can marinate the chicken for longer than an hour, but try not to marinate it for longer than 4-6 hours, or it could become slimy.
- Traditionally, the red color of tandoori chicken comes from the spices used, including red chili powder and cayenne pepper. In the US, many restaurants and home cooks add a drop of red food coloring to achieve that color. I choose to allow the chicken to be dark orange rather than using food colors to make it appear red.
- Storage: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave or uncovered in a 350°F oven. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers for up to three months.
Serving Suggestions
In an Indian restaurant, you will most likely enjoy this chicken with naan and white rice. I usually serve it with any of the following sides:
- Sauteed cauliflower
- Cauliflower rice
- Steamed broccoli
- Sauteed spinach
- Boiled green beans
- Cucumber salad with vinegar
- Creamy cucumber salad
- Sweet potato patties
For dessert, I almost always serve mango frozen yogurt!
Recipe Card
Oven-Baked Tandoori Chicken
Video
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt - not Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger - minced
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Chicken:
- 8 large chicken drumsticks - about 3 pounds total weight
- Avocado oil spray
Garnish:
- 1 tablespoon cilantro - chopped; or parsley
- 1 lemon - cut into wedges; optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
- Remove the chicken skin. It's easier to do if you pull on it with a paper towel.
- Using a sharp knife, cut three slashes in each drumstick. These will help the yogurt marinade penetrate the chicken better.
- Add the drumsticks to the yogurt marinade and rub the marinade onto them. Marinate for one hour in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup, fit it with a roasting rack, and spray the rack with nonstick spray.
- Arrange the coated chicken pieces on the rack, not touching each other.
- Roast the chicken until cooked through and charred in spots, about 30-35 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve, if desired, with lemon wedges.
Notes
- You can use boneless chicken thighs instead of drumsticks. Start checking on them after about 20 minutes - they will be ready faster than drumsticks.
- Since we're removing the chicken's skin, it's important to coat it in a thick layer of a yogurt marinade to protect it from drying out, and it's important to use whole-milk yogurt. You want the fat content of the yogurt to help keep the chicken juicy, and fat also makes food more palatable. If you only have nonfat yogurt on hand, I suggest you mix in 1-2 tablespoons of oil.
- For best results, set your oven to high heat (475°F) and roast the chicken until charred in spots. This will ensure juicy and flavorful chicken even without the traditional clay oven.
- Traditionally, the red color of tandoori chicken comes from the spices used, including red chili powder and cayenne pepper. In the US, many restaurants and home cooks add a drop of red food coloring to achieve that color. I choose to allow the chicken to be dark orange rather than using food colors to make it appear red.
- You can marinate the chicken for longer than an hour, but try not to marinate it for longer than 4-6 hours, or it could become slimy.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave or uncovered in a 350°F oven. You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months.
Nutrition per Serving
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