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Home Collections BBQ Recipes

Oven Baked Tandoori Chicken

By:Nagi
Published:1 May '19Updated:12 Nov '21
301 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This is an easy baked Tandoori Chicken recipe for everyone who happens not to have a tandoor sitting in the middle of your kitchen! Made with accessible ingredients from scratch, chicken is infused with flavour from a yogurt tandoori chicken marinade then baked until golden with little charred bits.

Finger lickin’ good!

Tandoori Chicken served with saffron rice and minted yogurt sauce

Tandoori Chicken recipe

Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala or Tandoori Chicken?? Any outing to an Indian restaurant causes a crisis of indecision as we battle it out between these 3 wildly popular Indian chicken dishes!

There’s no denying that one of the reasons why we love Tandoori chicken is the signature smokey chargrilled flavour that can only be achieved in a clay tandoor built to withhold fierce charcoal heat.

But don’t worry, you won’t miss the chargrill flavour in this Tandoori Chicken recipe. My trick is to jack up the flavour of the marinade to compensate – we’re talking big, big flavours here!

Oven Baked Tandoori Chicken - made from scratch with everyday ingredients, the flavour of this is authentic!

Tandoori Chicken on saffron rice, fresh out of the oven ready to be served

Tandoori Chicken Marinade

Here’s what you need for the Tandoori Chicken Marinade.

Kashmiri Chilli is what gives Tandoori the signature red colour. Tastes like paprika with a bit of spiciness, you’ll need to hunt down an Indian grocery store for this. But don’t worry, paprika is a near perfect flavour sub! The chicken won’t be quite as red but will still have a red hue. You can easily increase the redness with a drop or two of red food colouring.

Ingredients in Tandoori chicken marinade

Chicken in Tandoori Chicken Marinade

How to make it

The making part is very straight forward: mix marinate, add the chicken, then leave to marinate. 12 to 24 hours is best, or 48 hours. If you’re in a rush, then 2 to 3 hours will do the trick if you cut slashes into the chicken.

While this is a baked tandoori chicken recipe, it’s a ripper on the barbie too. And off the charts amazing if cooked over charcoal!

How to make Tandoori Chicken

What to serve with Tandoori chicken

Here’s what I serve with Tandoori Chicken:

  • Saffron Rice– love the colour contrast! Recipe below. Though plain basmati rice will do in a pinch (or other rice of choice).

  • Minted Yogurt– the freshness of the mint and cool yogurt pairs so well with all things Indian. Recipe below.

  • Side Salad*– try this Indian Tomato Salad or use the same dressing with slices of cucumber. Otherwise, check out this South Indian-style Cabbage & Carrot Salad with Coconut. A simpler alternative is  Everyday Cabbage Salad (it’s in the recipe notes).

  • Flatbreads – When naan is in hot demand, I reach for my Easy No Yeast Flatbreads. Because it’s not a saucy curry, I like to brush the flatbreads with garlic butter for extra flavour – SO GOOD!

* Fresh side salads are less common in Indian cuisine, vegetables tend to be cooked. So don’t get too caught up about an authentic fresh side salad – go with what you like!  – Nagi x

Close up photo showing juicy inside of tandoor chicken with saffron and minted yogurt sauce

Watch how to make it

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Tandoori Chicken on saffron rice, fresh out of the oven ready to be served

Baked Tandoori Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 40 mins
Total: 50 mins
Chicken
Indian, Nepalese
4.90 from 79 votes
Servings5
Tap or hover to scale
Print
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Recipe video above. Tandoori chicken - baked in the oven! For everyone who doesn't have a tandoor sitting in the middle of their kitchen. 🙂 The flavour infusion and the lovely crust from the marinade is sensational. Easy sub for Kashmiri Chilli, the only ingredient that is not sold at supermarkets.

Ingredients

Tandoori Marinade:

  • 1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt (full fat best)
  • 2 tbsp oil (any)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp ginger , grated
  • 5 garlic cloves , minced
  • 3 tsp garam masala spice mix (Note 1)
  • 1.5 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder (Note 2 subs)
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder, adjust to taste (pure, not US chili Note 3)
  • 1 tsp salt

Chicken:

  • 1.2kg / 2.4lb drumsticks, bone-in skin on chicken thighs or Marylands (whole chicken legs) (Note 4)
  • Oil spray

Mint Yoghurt (optional)

  • 1 cup plain yoghurt
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, packed
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

Serving

  • Basmati rice OR Saffron rice (see note)

Instructions

  • Mix Marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken, cover and marinate 12 to 24 hours (Note 5)
  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a tray with foil and place a rack on the tray.
  • Remove chicken from the Marinade, shaking off excess (reserve Marinade), and place on the rack. Bake for 20 minutes, then slather Marinade generously on both sides.
  • Bake for a further 10 minutes, brush/dab top with Marinade.
  • Bake further 10 minutes, do a final baste with Marinade then spray with oil.
  • Increase heat to 220C/450F. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until you get some nice charred spots. Serve with Minted Yogurt and Saffron Rice (below) or plain Basmati Rice.

Minted Yoghurt:

  • Combine ingredients in a food processor and blitz until mint is very finely chopped. 

BBQ Option:

  • Preheat BBQ with closed lid to medium, brush grills lightly with oil. Place bone-in skin-on chicken skin side down on grills, cook 5 min until surface is just caramelised - no more.
  • Baste, then flip. Baste, then close lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 175F/80C (bone in thighs and drumsticks), basting once or twice more.

Recipe Notes:

1. Garam Masala is an Indian spice mix that you can purchase in dried herbs and spices section of supermarkets. It costs the same as other spices. The spices in it include: cardamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
SUB with curry powder (like Keens, Clives of India) + 1 tsp All Spice (or 1/8 tsp extra of all the other spices in recipe plus 1/8 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger)
2. Kashimiri Chilli - found at Indian grocery stores, gives tandoori chicken the red colour and bit of spiciness. Tastes like spicy paprika. Easy sub with: 3 tsp paprika (smoked if possible, otherwise sweet or normal) + few drop of red food colouring (if you want slightly more red colour).
This is the one I use (Amazon USA link, but I got mine from a Sydney Indian store. Here is a better value one on Amazon USA. 
Use in place of paprika in Indian recipes such as Biryani and Chicken Tikka Masala for an earthy, authentic flavour. It's almost a direct sub with paprika - except it's a bit spicy.
3. Chilli Powder - This is pure ground chilli powder and it's spicy. This is not US/Canadian Chili Powder which is a spice mix with South Western/Tex Mex flavours. Sub: cayenne pepper, or leave it out if you want mild.
4. Chicken - best made with bone in thighs, drumsticks and wings as they require 50 min or so which gives you a nice tandoori crust. For boneless thighs, bake 25 minutes, for breast, bake 22 min - or better yet, BBQ on grills or cook on stove!
5. Marinating - for emergency marinade, make 2 or 3 slashes in the chicken and marinade 2 to 3 hours. Can also freeze the chicken with the marinade (raw). Then when you want to cook it, allow it to defrost then simply follow the recipe.
5. Saffron Rice (serves 5) - Soak 1/8 tsp saffron threads in 1/4 cup (65ml) boiled water for 5 min. Add saffron water to large saucepan with 2 cups (500ml) cold water and 1.5 cups basmati rice. Cover, bring to simmer over medium high, then reduce heat to medium low so it's simmering. Cook 12 minutes until water is absorbed (tilt pot to check), remove from stove and stand for 10 minutes covered.
To use imitation saffron powder (much better value) use 1/16th tsp and add to saucepan with 2 1/4 cups (565ml) water, cook per above (I did this for rice in photos, was out of saffron threads)
6. Recipe source - Inspired by Qmin Indian cookbook, a restaurant I used to frequent in my corporate days. Also by referencing the packets of tandoori spice mixes sold at Indian grocery stores (I'm told by Indian store owners that most Indians make Tandoori chicken using tandoori spice mixes!).
7. Tandoori Chicken nutrition per serving.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 250gCalories: 442cal (22%)Carbohydrates: 8g (3%)Protein: 28g (56%)Fat: 32g (49%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Cholesterol: 148mg (49%)Sodium: 643mg (28%)Potassium: 528mg (15%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 265IU (5%)Vitamin C: 3.8mg (5%)Calcium: 180mg (18%)Iron: 1.9mg (11%)
Keywords: tandoori chicken, tandoori chicken marinade
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Originally published September 2015. Completely rewritten April 2019, new photos, new video, tidied up video and most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!

Life of Dozer

Final photo from Dozer’s birthday cake recipe from Monday – when I was trying to do a “nice” overhead photo of the cake and when he saw I was teetering on a ladder fiddling with my camera, he knew it was an opportune time to lunge in for ANOTHER slice!

Dozer golden retriever dog photo bombing photo shoot of dog cake

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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301 Comments

  1. Ali Davies says

    October 10, 2022 at 4:23 pm

    Can I put the marinated chicken into a clip lock bag & put it into the freezer? Will it be ok with the yoghurt?

    Reply
  2. IpadPro says

    July 2, 2022 at 9:05 pm

    There is pepper in the video but its quantity is not mentioned in the recipe.

    Reply
  3. Rachel says

    May 30, 2022 at 9:46 am

    5 stars
    Another winner!!! I told my hubby it was one of your recipes and he said then it has to be good! I used chicken breast in big chunks on skewers, 10 min. max in the hottest temp in my air fryer. Delicious!!!

    Reply
  4. Marie says

    April 20, 2022 at 10:19 pm

    The easiest and tastiest chicken recipe ever prepared in my 76 years. I cooked it for eight this evening – thigh cutlets, drumsticks and wings – and it was the perfect dinner served with slaw, naan and Nagi’s potato wedges. I didn’t change one ingredient. Everything just right.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 21, 2022 at 4:37 pm

      Wow Marie – that’s a big call in 76 years of cooking!!! I am glad that you are enjoying the recipes!! N x

      Reply
  5. Tracy Noronha says

    February 13, 2022 at 7:52 am

    Hi Nagi,
    Can you use skinless thighs and drumsticks? Most tandoori is without skin? Just want to know of this effects the look or taste in anyway?

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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