When it comes to Indian dishes, tandoori chicken is one name that you hear day in day out. Although it is very familiar among Indian food lovers, not many know how to make tandoori chicken at home. If you are one of them, you will be reading the easiest method that you can try to make a mouthwatering dish of tandoori chicken. Also, we have added some of the frequently asked questions along with answers so that you don’t have to wander around the internet searching how to make tandoori chicken at home. Let’s get started.
What is tandoori chicken?
Before we explore how to make tandoori chicken at home first, let’s define what tandoori is. Actually, tandoori (tandoor) is not a dish itself but a sort of clay oven that Indians use for their cooking. It bears high levels of heat without much problem, which is very much unique, and it is exactly what makes this method ideal to cook meats like chicken.
Usually, the outside of the meat gets a bit charred and crisp, but the inside is always soft, and the overall cooking time is not significant. Although the tandoori clay pot plays a huge role in a tandoori chicken recipe, the spices also are as important as tandoor.
We feel that you are building an assumption that you cannot make tandoori chicken at home without a tandoor (clay oven). Although you can’t do the exact thing, there are enough options available for you to match the same environment without much of a problem. The best alternative choices are a hot oven, grill, or even an air fryer.
How to make tandoori chicken at home?
Guys, first of all, let us tell you that making tandoori chicken at home is not as difficult as you would think as far as you have the right ingredients and tools. Let’s the ingredients you need.
Ingredients needed for tandoori chicken
Well, there are many tandoori chicken recipes, and the paste of tandoori may differ from one recipe to another. That said, some of the ingredients don’t change as they are imperative to bring the authentic taste of tandoori chicken. Anyway, these are what this particular recipe demands.
- Chicken (preferably chicken thighs and legs)
- Paprika
- Coriander (ground)
- Turmeric (ground)
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Onion
- Garam Masala
- Kashmiri chili powder
- Lemon juice
- Yoghurt (if possible, opt for Greek yoghurt)
- Salt to taste
Now, we can understand that you may find it difficult to find certain ingredients at the nearest grocery. If this is the case with you, there is nothing wrong with using ready-made tandoori paste. When using store-bought pastes, you can remove onion, garlic, ginger, paprika, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala and replace them with ½ cup of store-bought prepared masala mix.
Step by step guide on how to make tandoori chicken at home
Let’s get to the business end of the article. Assuming you don’t have a tandoor pot oven, let’s see how to make tandoori chicken at home using an oven.
1st step
Please take all the tandoori paste ingredients and process them in a food processor until they get smooth.
2nd step
Then, take a large enough bowl to fit the chicken and add the tandoori paste and other ingredients with the chicken. Give all a proper mix and let the chicken marinate for about thirty minutes.
3rd step
In a 450° heated oven, cook the marinated chicken. High it is essential for a successful outcome, and putting the chicken in an oven that is inadequately heated would not help you get the original taste of the recipe. The high in the oven will caramelize the outer surfaces of the chicken very quickly because of the yoghurt in the marinade.
This caramelized crust will help to retain the flavor of tandoori paste and chicken.
4th step
Finally, once you see golden brown crust all over the chicken, you can take it out from the oven. There is nothing wrong with darker crust (not black, though), so don’t be hurry to pull the chicken out.
Now you are good to go with your homemade tandoori chicken recipe. It goes unbelievably with roti, paratha, or rice.
FAQs
As we promised, let us take a minute and answer some frequently asked questions regarding tandoori chicken. If your concern is not included here, please feel free to let us know about it in the comment section.
What gives the tandoori chicken its unique flavor?
As we said, there are certain ingredients, remain the same, although there are many tandoori recipes. They are garlic, onion, garam masala, coriander, turmeric, and Kashmiri chili powder. These are the ingredients that protect the distinguished flavor of traditional tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken is a spicy dish, and you must have these spices with you in order to get the authentic taste.
Does homemade tandoori have health benefits?
Yes, tandoori chicken is a low-carb dish and full of vitamins and many other valuable nutrients. If you stick with the recipe we elaborated on; there is nothing to worry about as no ingredient is considered harmful to the human body.
What gives the tandoori chicken the red color?
Kashmiri chili and paprika are the main reasons why the dish gets a reddish outlook. However, if you use more turmeric, the color of tandoori chicken may get yellowish to a certain extend. In addition, some restaurants happen to use food coloring as well; that is another reason why you want to know how to make tandoori chicken at home, as you know every ingredient you use in the dish is safe and original.
Conclusion on how to make tandoori chicken at home
So, we hope the step-by-step guide we brought today is clear and comprehensive to you. Please stick with the ingredients we mentioned to get the authentic taste of tandoori chicken. In addition, put your emphasis on the heat; it should be high. If you need further assistance from us, please use the comment section below. Have a great day!
