If you're a fan of rich, aromatic spices and perfectly cooked, tender chicken, then today's recipe is one you won't want to miss: Tandoori Chicken Oven Baked! Get ready to indulge in the perfect balance of spices, smoky flavor, and juicy drumsticks with this simple yet delicious recipe!
This dish is a beloved classic in Indian cuisine, loved by food lovers of all ages. While the traditional Tandoori Chicken is made in a special clay oven called a 'tandoor', you can easily recreate this mouthwatering dish at home using your regular oven or gas grill.
It makes a great side dish with Ghee rice or an easy vegetable biryani recipe. Serve some grilled paneer tikka and air-fried corn for vegetarians. If you would like to serve garvies instead, homemade chicken tikka masala, chicken kashmiri recipe, and curried chicken with coconut milk are always a hit.
Jump to:
Why you'll love this dish?
- The most delicious dish ever, with the best blend of spices
- Since we bake instead of frying, this version is healthier and requires minimal oil, so you can enjoy all the flavor with a lighter twist. Another healthier version is the Chicken tikka in an Air fryer. If you are okay with frying, do try the chicken 65 recipe or chicken chili indian, which are popular and taste great as well.
- It's a hit with both kids and adults, making it the perfect family-friendly meal! Serve this chicken with vegetable hakka noodles and you have a nice meal.
- Perfect for get-togethers, barbecues, and celebrations of any kind!
- Easy to make; just marinate and bake when ready to have.
- The same marinade can also be used for grilling on an outdoor grill.
Ingredients
- Chicken drumsticks cleaned and slit for the marinade to soak in
- Spices - Chili powder (Kashmiri), Coriander powder, turmeric,garam masala, cumin powder, Chaat masala, black pepper, Ajwain(carom seed), and Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
- Tandoori Masala (Shaan brand) - optional
- Kitchen staples - Oil(vegetable or mustard), salt, butter
- Ginger garlic paste
- Yogurt plain low-fat
- Lemon (juice squeezed)
Tandoori Chicken Oven Baked - How to make?
Start by making a paste of all ingredients mentioned in the 'for marinade' section.
Wash the chicken and make a few slits halfway, apply the marinade all over and arrange it in a baking tray. Cover with an aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 8 to 10 hours.
Preheat the oven to 470 deg F. Spray oil on it. Cover the baking tray with foil and with tiny holes pricked on the sheet with a fork. Bake for about 20 minutes on the top rack, covered.
Turn over to cook on the other side and drain any excess water that is released while baking. Next, remove the foil and bake with the foil open for another 20 minutes. Finally, spray some oil and cook on the broil option for five to seven minutes.
- Step 1: Make a marinade of all the spices, yogurt, lemon juice, and ginger garlic paste.
- Step 2: Mix well to form a smooth marinade.
- Step 3: Slit the chicken and marinate well for a minimum of three to four hours or eight to ten hours if possible.
- Step 4: Bake in a preheated oven at 470 degrees for 20 minutes. Drain any liquid and bake for another 20 minutes until done. Spray some oil. Finally, broil for 5 to 7 minutes to get a nice char.
Grilled Tandoori Chicken
To grill, preheat your gas grill to 350°F. Arrange the marinated drumsticks on the grill and lightly spray them with oil. Close the lid and cook for 20 minutes, checking occasionally.
After 20 minutes, flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Once fully cooked, transfer it to a serving bowl, baste it with butter or oil, sprinkle it with chaat masala, and squeeze fresh lime juice over the top before serving.
- Step 5: Grill the chicken between 350 to 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Turn the chicken at around 20 minutes.
- Step 6: Transfer to a serving dish.
Useful Tips
- A little of Shaan's tandoori masala (available at any Indian grocery) is used in this recipe, along with other spices. Marinate for about 8 to 10 hours.
- The longer it sits in the marinade, the tastier it will turn out! In a time crunch, 3 to 4 hours will also work.
- Reduce the quantity of Tandoori masala used for a mild and less spicy version. Salt is optional, and be cautious when adding it as the masala itself has strong spices and salt in it already! We also used the same masala for Baked Tandoori Salmon.
- Bake covered for the first twenty minutes. Some water will be released while baking.
- Drain the excess water and bake uncovered for the rest of the 20 minutes.
- Finally, broil to get a nice charred and crispy outer layer.
Recipe FAQs
To retain more moisture, it is cooked covered for 20 minutes and then uncovered for the remaining 20 minutes after removing any water content that it releases.
Kashmiri chili powder works wonders, It’s a bright red chili powder that’s mild in spice but adds a rich, dark color. Some people also mix red food coloring to enhance the colors.
Be sure to broil after baking for about five to seven minutes; this will help attain it.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Tandoori Chicken Oven-baked recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Tandoori Chicken Oven Baked
Ingredients
For marinade
- 12 Chicken drumsticks
- 1 packet Tandoori Masala (Shaan brand) optional
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 5 tbsp yogurt plain low-fat
- 1 tbsp oil mustard or vegetable oil
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder Kashmiri
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 big lemon (juice squeezed)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Ajwain (Carom seeds)
- 1 tsp Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda (optional)
For garnish
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1 onion
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Make a paste of all ingredients mentioned in the 'for marinade' section.
- Wash the chicken and make few slits halfway.
- Apply marinade all over the chicken and arrange it in a baking tray.
- Cover a baking tray with an aluminum foil and refrigerate for about 8 to 10 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 470 deg F.Spray oil on the chicken.
- Cover the baking tray with foil on and with tiny holes pricked on the sheet with a fork
- Bake for about 20 minutes on the top rack.
- Turn over the chicken and drain any excess water that is released while baking.
- Now remove the foil and bake open for another 20 minutes.
- Drain any excess water if any, while baking.
- Sprinkle chaat masala on the chicken and spray oil.
- Return chicken with the baking tray into the oven.
- Set on broil for 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken is browned.
- Garnish with raw onions and lemon.
- Tandoori chicken is ready, serve with chutney, yogurt, bread (naan) or rice.
Notes
- Shaan's tandoori masala (available at any Indian grocery) is used for this recipe, along with some other spices.
- One important tip for getting this recipe right is to marinate the chicken for about 8 to 10 hours. The longer it sits in the marinade, the tastier it will turn out! However if you are in a time crunch 3 to 4 hours will also work.
- You can reduce the quantity of Tandoori masala used for a mild and less spicy version. Salt is optional as the masala itself has strong spices and salt in it already! However, you can add a hint of salt if you like.
- Bake the chicken covered for the first twenty minutes. Some water will be released while baking. Drain the excess water and bake uncovered for the rest of the 20 minutes.
- Finally, broil to get a nice charred outer layer.
This is delicious, we made these for meal prep and enjoyed them for lunch all week long!
Wow, this was such a great recipe. It's easy and has such a great flavor. All plates went empty. Thank you for sharing!
This is the best recipe for Tandoori chicken I have ever tasted.
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
So yummy and perfect!!
Thank you dear!
Mouthwatering tandoori chicken. 🙂
Thank you so much Jyoti!
Mouthwatering..super yummy
Thank you so much Ankita! appreciate it!
Oh they look nicely charred and perfectly grilled!
Thanks Vidya! broiling gave that nice charred look.
Oh wow. What a coincidence Nisha.. This was our dinner today.. 😀 looks really yummy! 👌
Hey Lavs, that's nice ..it makes an awesome dinner .Thank you for stopping by!
😀
Wow. Mouth watering. Yummy
Thank you so much Deepa!