Tandoori Chicken
Quick answer
- Total time
- 270 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Scored chicken legs are rubbed with yogurt, cumin, coriander, paprika and lemon juice, then left in the fridge for at least four hours, overnight if possible.
Read more
The dish traditionally comes out of a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven; a home oven heated thoroughly to 230°C still raises dark charred patches over the red coating. Naan and sliced onion often come alongside.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Score the thickest parts of 800 g chicken thighs and drumsticks so the marinade can reach inside.
If the surface is very wet, pat it lightly dry so the yogurt coating does not become watery.
- 2
Mix 150 g yogurt with 1 teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder, and paprika powder, then add 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Stir until the color is even and no dry spice pockets remain.
- 3
Rub the marinade over the chicken and push it into the cuts so the thick pieces season evenly.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for a deeper spice flavor.
- 4
Before roasting, preheat the oven fully to 230°C.
Place the chicken on a rack and smooth the outside coating so it clings in a thin layer instead of sitting in heavy clumps that can burn.
- 5
Roast at 230°C for about 30 minutes.
Check the color halfway through; if the edges darken too quickly, shift the pieces on the rack so the surface chars without drying out.
- 6
Remove the chicken when the red spice coating has dark charred spots and smells smoky.
Let it rest for 5 minutes so the juices settle, then serve with a little lemon juice if desired.
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