The Best Everyday Tandoori Chicken

I love tandoori chicken – it encompasses all the flavour of Indian food, but isn’t super spicy, so you can serve it to just about anyone without risking blowing their heads off.

If you look at a really authentic recipe, you’d be put off by the number of ingredients needed. But this everyday tandoori chicken recipe takes away all the hard work. In fact, it isn’t really a recipe, it’s a cheat. But it’s a very good one. Embarrassingly so.

All you need is a bag of tandoori powder from your local Indian grocer, some water and some chicken. Any cut of chicken works, although I prefer chicken thighs and drumsticks, as they don’t dry out, and they are pretty indestructible on the BBQ. But chicken breast works really well too if you’re careful not to overcook it.

I started making chicken tandoori this way when I lived in Australia. We used to hold a curry night once a month. Someone would host the evening, and provide the rice, popadoms and side dishes. Everyone else brought a curry. Everything would be put in the middle of the table and we would all tuck in. On one occasion, I left it too late to make my curry. Rather than turn up empty handed, I took a bag of tandoori powder and a container to work, bought some chicken thighs from the supermarket at lunchtime. I mixed it all together in the office kitchen, and let it marinate all afternoon.

I cooked the my tandoori chicken on the host’s BBQ when I got there, and it was an instant hit. The only dish that evening with no leftovers. I’ve been making tandoori chicken this way ever since!

Traditional tandoori chicken includes yoghurt, but I don’t include this for three reasons. Firstly it turns everything pink. It’s also really messy, and finally, I find it dilutes the tandoori spice flavour.

Ultimately this method just gives you a base, and you can add anything you like. Yoghurt and lemon can work, and some chilli too if you want to add some heat. But for me, this is always a quick and easy cheat recipe so I never try and complicate it.

Throw this on the BBQ in the summer and serve with a salad, or bake it in the oven in the cooler months and serve with just about anything and the only thing you’ll be disappointed about is that you didn’t cook it sooner.

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The Best Everyday Tandoori Chicken

5 from 1 vote

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2 chicken legs (skin on (thighs and drum sticks))
• 2 chicken wings (skin on)
• 2-3 tbsp tandoori powder ((East End brand is good))
• Water
• Salt

Instructions 

• Mix the tandoori powder with enough water to make a wet paste.
• Salt the chicken pieces.
• Add the paste and the chicken to a bowl, and mix well.
• Cover and marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours, or if possible, overnight.
• Remove the chicken from the fridge an hour before you want to cook and allow to come to room temperature.
• Cook the chicken until a meat thermometer reads an internal temperature of 75C, and the chicken is nicely browned. Either roast in the oven at 200C for about 20-25 minutes, or cook in a frying pan or on the BBQ.
• Serve immediately, but also tastes great cold.

Course: BBQ, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian