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Punjabi · Indian

Tandoori chicken

Non-vegetarian

तंदूरी चिकन · tandoori chicken

Bone-in chicken marinated twice — first in lemon and chilli, then in spiced yogurt — and roasted very hot until charred. An oven version of the tandoor classic.

Tandoori chicken is a Punjabi grilled dish from India, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with chicken thigh and greek yogurt. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Delicious tandoori chicken leg served with fresh lime slices on a rustic wooden board.
Photo: Nitai Mondal / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
20 min
Cook
35 min
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
441

Plus 4–24 hours marinating in the fridge.

Ingredients

4 servings

First marinade

Second marinade

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rub the slashed chicken with lemon juice (opens in a new tab), salt and chilli powder. Leave 30 minutes.

    • 5 min

    Food safety: Wash hands, boards and knives after handling raw chicken.

  2. Step 2

    Mix the yogurt with the ginger, garlic (opens in a new tab), spices, kasuri methi (opens in a new tab) and mustard oil (opens in a new tab). Coat the chicken thoroughly, working it into the cuts. Cover and refrigerate 4–24 hours.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 240 °C. Set the chicken on a rack over a lined tray and roast 20 minutes.

    A tray of food roasting in the oven
    How it looks · Photo: locrifa on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Baste with melted butter (opens in a new tab), turn the grill to maximum and cook 8–12 minutes more until charred in places and the thickest piece reaches 75 °C.

    Food safety: Chicken must reach 75 °C at the thickest point near the bone.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Rest 5 minutes and serve with onion rings and lemon (opens in a new tab).

    • 5 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Punjab, India · Commonly attributedAssociated with Punjabi tandoor cooking; its restaurant form is usually credited to cooks in Peshawar and later Delhi. Both India and Pakistan claim it.Also popular in Pakistan, United KingdomMore food from India
Dish
Dinner · Lunch · Grills & kebabs · Main courses
Cooking method
Marinated / cured, Roasted, Grilled
Taste
smoky, spicy (chilli heat), tangy, savoury
Diet
No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Chicken thigh · Greek yogurt · Lemon juice · Cayenne / chilli powder · Fresh ginger · Garlic
Techniques
Roasting · Grilling · Charcoal grilling · Marinating · Curing

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom greek yogurt, butter
  • Contains, can be adapted: Mustardfrom mustard oil

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

441 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 310 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 46%
  • Carbohydrate 7%
  • Fat 48%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy441 kcal142 kcal
Protein49.7 g16 g
Carbohydrate7.1 g2.3 g
Net carbohydrate5.8 g1.9 g
Sugars2.5 g0.8 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.3 g0.4 g
Fat23.2 g7.5 g
Saturated fat7.1 g2.3 g
Trans fat0.2 g0.1 g
Cholesterol229 mg74 mg
Sodium995 mg321 mg
Salt equivalent2.5 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
716 mg
Calcium
95 mg
Iron
2.8 mg
Magnesium
69 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
66 µg
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
1.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
15 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: red onion, lemon.
  • Garam masala: Curry powder (FDC 170924) used as a stand-in; both are ground blends of similar dried spices used in teaspoon amounts.
  • Dried fenugreek leaves: Fenugreek seed (FDC 171324) used as a stand-in for dried leaves; used in pinches.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the deep slashes — the marinade can't penetrate and the meat stays bland.

Serve with

  • Serve with mint chutney, naan and a cucumber salad.

Food safety

  • Discard used marinade; never baste with marinade that touched raw chicken.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days refrigerated.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a hot oven until piping hot throughout.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Chicken thigh, skinless bone-in thighs and drumsticks, deeply slashed900 g
  • Butter, melted, for basting20 g
Used in steps 1, 4

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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