🍗 Half Tandoori Chicken
A half tandoori chicken is half a bird on the bone, marinated in yogurt with lemon, ginger, garlic, tandoori masala and chili, then roasted in a tandoor. The skin side chars and blisters while the meat stays juicy and smoky, with a tangy red crust. Restaurants serve it whole on a sizzling plate with onion rings, lemon and mint chutney.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small chicken (about 1.2 kg), halved, skin removed
- 200 g plain yogurt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 20 g ginger, grated
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 tbsp tandoori masala
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
Method
- Make deep slashes in the chicken halves and rub with lemon juice, salt and chili; rest 20 minutes.
- Mix yogurt, ginger, garlic and tandoori masala, coat the chicken and marinate for 4–12 hours in the fridge.
- Heat the oven to 240–250 °C and set the chicken on a rack over a tray.
- Roast for 35–40 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.
- Char under a hot grill for a few minutes and serve with lemon and onion.
How to make it lighter
- Share a half chicken between two, or keep half for another meal, as it is a large portion.
- Remove the skin and choose low-fat yogurt for the marinade.
- Fill the plate with salad and onion instead of naan and rich sauces.
History
Tandoori chicken is generally credited to Punjabi cooks who brought tandoor roasting from Peshawar to Delhi restaurants in the mid-20th century. Ordering a half or full bird is standard on Indian and Pakistani restaurant menus today.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →