🍗 Tandoori Chicken

Name: Tandoori Chicken
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: India · Punjab
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken pieces, skinless, slashed; 200 g plain yogurt; 1 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1–2 tsp chili powder; 4 garlic cloves, grated; 20 g ginger, grated; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp oil

Origin: India · Punjab

400kcal

per serving · 250 g

160kcal

per 100 g

55 gProtein22 g / 100 g

15 gFat6 g / 100 g

8 gCarbs3 g / 100 g

Tandoori chicken is chicken marinated in yogurt with turmeric, cumin, chili, garlic and ginger, then roasted at very high heat in a clay tandoor oven. The yogurt tenderises the meat, and the fierce heat chars the outside while keeping the inside juicy and smoky. It is served with sliced onion, lemon wedges and green chutney.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly3 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein22 g protein per 100 g — 55% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken, yogurt

Contains dairybecause of: yogurt

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Milk

What it is made of

chickenyogurtturmericcuminchili peppergarlicginger

Recipe

4 servings60 min

Ingredients

1 kg chicken pieces, skinless, slashed
200 g plain yogurt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1–2 tsp chili powder
4 garlic cloves, grated
20 g ginger, grated
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil

Method

Mix yogurt, turmeric, cumin, chili, garlic, ginger and salt into a marinade.
Coat the chicken well, working the marinade into the cuts, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Heat the oven to its highest setting (240–250 °C) with a rack over a tray.
Arrange the chicken on the rack, brush lightly with oil and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once.
Finish under a hot grill for 3–4 minutes to char the edges, then serve with onion and lemon.

How to make it lighter

Remove the skin before marinating; most of the fat in chicken sits in the skin.
Use low-fat yogurt in the marinade and skip basting with extra oil.
Serve with salad and lemon instead of naan and buttery sides.

History

The dish is usually credited to Punjabi restaurateurs in Peshawar and later Delhi around the mid-20th century, who adapted tandoor cooking for chicken. It spread from Delhi restaurants across India and to Indian restaurants worldwide.

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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 →