Homemade Tandoori Masala & Chicken تندوری چکن recipe by morEwish

The best homemade tandoori chicken recipe! This authentic Tandoori chicken is tender, moist and juicy and better than made with store bought masala! The bright colours and charred flavour of tandoori chicken has made it a favourite in evey households.

The tandoori masala is an important blend of spices used in many dishes. It gives a spicy, smoky and aromatic flavour to your food. It can be bought at most grocery stores down the spice aisle, though I prefer to make my own blend – it’s incredibly easy to make and requires only a few simple ingredients. Most of these spices will already be on your spice rack.

Tandoori chicken is marinated in tandoori masala, along with yogurt, ginger, garlic and lemon before cooking it in the traditional “tandoor” oven. A tandoor oven is an outdoor clay oven that reaches extremely hot temperatures to give a charred and deep flavour to your food. Now most of us don’t have a tandoor oven hanging around, an oven or BBQ grill will do just fine!

The key to tandoori chicken is to use bone-in thighs and legs (yay! our favorite cuts) because they have enough fat to stay moist under the heat of the grill. The pieces should be skinless. Today I have used boneless chicken thigh peices tho.

Preheat a grill and clean grill grates and spray with oil. Grill chicken until center of thickest part registers 165, about 10 – 12 minutes per side for bone-in, about 5 – 7 minutes per side for boneless. Brush lightly with butter/oil as needed to keep exterior moist and reduce sticking, once during cooking.

You can roast this chicken in the oven as well (instead of grilling). Preheat oven to 425 degrees, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a large wire rack on baking sheet. Grease rack with non-stick cooking spray. Cook chicken until center registers 165 in center of thickest part, turning once halfway through (approx. 35 – 40 mins for bone-in, 25 – 30 for boneless). Broil during last 3 minutes for more color.

Video in Urdu: 

Video in English: 

Ingredients: 

Tandoori masala: 

Black salt (kala namak) 1 tsp

Salt 1/2 tsp, to taste

Red chili powder 1 tsp

Corriander powder 1 tsp

Cumin, roasted and crushed 1 tsp

Garam masala powder 1 tsp

Nutmeg and Mace powder 1/4 tsp

Orange color a pinch, optional

Tandoori Chicken: 

Chicken 1 lb

Garlic 1 tsp

Ginger 1 tsp

Yogurt 1/2 cup

Lemon juice  2 - 4 tbsp

Oil/ butter 1/4 cup