Tandoori chicken is a no-doubt favorite for any Indian food night out. Our tandoori-style chicken recipe lets you make a version of that deliciously spiced dish any time you want. With the exception of the marinating time, this is a fast and easy recipe which anyone can do at home.
There are quite a few spices here — from exotic and warm ginger powder to earthy-sweet turmeric. As long as your spice rack is reasonably well stocked, you should be in good shape to make this recipe. Though, you may need to stop by your local market to get red food coloring. Food coloring gives many restaurant versions of tandoori chicken their beautiful red hue and we do the same here.
While cayenne pepper is in the recipe, our tandoori-style chicken isn’t too hot as made. If you want it spicier, you do have a few options. The easiest is simply adding more cayenne pepper powder. It has a neutral flavor, so you’re simply adding more heat. Another option is to add additional smoked paprika. It’s not as hot as cayenne, but adding more means your also adding additional smokiness so keep that in mind.
Marinate your chicken for a minimum of two hours. But for the tastiest results, opt for an overnight or longer. Just remember the longer it is on there the better the flavor, but two days is the absolute maximum for the chicken to stay fresh.
Tandoori-Style Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or roughly the juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup natural yogurt
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring
Instructions
Marinating the chicken
- Use a large ziplock bag to marinade the chicken. Add the chicken, spices, and all of the other ingredients to the ziplock bag and massage with your hands for 5 minutes.
- Refrigerate overnight to allow a deeper flavor to develop – massage regularly to help the process.
Cooking the tandoori-style chicken
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove chicken from the marinade and place on a non stick baking tray.
- Cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes and you will see some charring on the chicken.
- Enjoy with fresh salad and lemon wedges.