Restaurant-Style Tandoori Chicken / Tandoori Chicken Recipe / Oven Roasted Chicken Tandoori

Tandoori chicken as a dish originated in the Punjab before the independence of India and Pakistan. Although tandoor cooked chicken dates back to as early as the Mughal era, the dish is believed to be invented by Kundan Lal Gujral, a man who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Peshawar(Source Wikipedia). The Chicken drumsticks are marinated in warm, fragrant spices and yogurt that tenderises them, and the marinated chicken is skewed on to the skewer and cooked in a heated clay oven known as the Tandoor to make a mouth-watering appetizer. Tandoor is heated by charcoal or wood which also add to the smoky flavour. (A tandoor, or an outdoor clay oven is traditionally used to make tandoori chicken, along with other delicacies like naan or tandoori roti.)

Rather than mostly being eaten as in starters and appetizers, Tandoori chicken sometimes is also eaten as a main course traditionally with naan (an Indian Flatbread).  It is traditionally cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor (clay oven), but can also be prepared on a traditional barbecue grill.

Tandoori chicken is an Indian classic for a reason. No Indian celebration is complete without mounds of these tasty, delicately spiced, grilled chicken pieces, coupled with cucumber and tomato slices, sprinkled over with cilantro and with lemon or lime slices beside them to squeeze over. Traditionally tandoori chicken is served with a yogurt raita and a mint/ chutney, which adds another level of freshness and flavour to this simple, elegant dish.

My husband is a great fan of Tandoori chicken. This paired with Tandoori Roti & Garlic Mayo dip is his all-time favorite. In India whenever we go out for dinner this is the first thing that we order. But after coming to Canada, we rarely visit any Indian restaurants, so I started making this at home. This Indian classic Tandoori Chicken is actually very easy to make at home in the oven! Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

Chicken drumsticks - 4 – 6 nos

Cooking Oil – 1 tbspn

Marinade:

Plain yogurt - ½ cup

Tandoori masala - 4 tbspns

Kashmiri chilli powder (optional) - 1 teaspoon

Cooking oil - 1 tbspn

Garlic – 3 cloves, minced

Ginger - ½ inch piece, grated

Juice of 1 medium size lemon

Salt to taste

Method:

Whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade. Rub into the chicken pieces and marinate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight, in the refrigerator. When ready to make the tandoori chicken, preheat oven to 450 F. Brush a heavy baking tray with about 1 - 2 tablespoons oil, then arrange the drumsticks in a single layer. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes, depending on the size of your drumsticks, turning once or twice, or until cooked through.

Serve with Lemon slices, Yogurt Raita (plain yogurt, chopped cucumber, chopped cilantro and salt to taste) or Mint Chutney