After watching Rob Rainford grilling up a storm Monday night, I had the itch to do some grilling as well. When I scanned through my ‘to try’ list the first thing to jump out at me was tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken is an Indian roasted chicken dish where the chicken is marinated in a spicy yogurt that is seasoned with masala and chili peppers. I don’t know what it is about meat on a stick but it certainly is one of my favorite ways to grill up some chicken and I figured that a skewered, grilled, chicken tandoori would be really good. I went with a pretty simple recipe adding some fresh lemon, onion, garlic and ginger to the yogurt followed by some spices including a homemade garam masala and some ceyenne pepper and hot and smoky paprika to add some heat and to give it the traditional red colouring. After letting the chicken marinate over night I pulled it out of the fridge and when I opened the bag up I just had to pause for a moment to enjoy the amazing aromatics. The chicken grilled up quickly and it was nice and juicy and full of flavour and oh so good! You can eat this tasty tandoori chicken as is, as a part of a larger meal or you could use it in a wrap or even in a curry like chicken tikka masala.
Grilled Tandoori Chicken
ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 lemon (juice)
- 1/2 small onion (grated)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (grated)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon paprika (I used hot smoked)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (toasted and ground)
- 1 teaspoon coriander (toasted and ground)
- 1/2 teaspoon ceyenne pepper (or to taste)
- salt to taste
- 1 pound chicken (boneless and skinless, but into 1 inch pieces)
directions
- Mix all of the ingredients save the chicken.
- Place the chicken in a freezer bag along with the marinade and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably several hours to overnight.
- Pull the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and skewer it.
- Grill the chicken until cooked, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Tandoori Chicken Melt
Tandoori Chicken Quesadillas
Butter Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Souvlaki
Yakitori
Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Dakkochi (Korean Skewered Chicken)
Grilled Lemongrass Chicken
Moroccan Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Bacon BBQ Chicken Skewers
Balsamic Garlic Grilled Mushroom Skewers
Za’atar Grilled Chicken
Pesto Grilled Chicken, Zucchini and Tomato Skewers
Skillet Chicken Satay
Ciao Chow Linda says
May 7, 2010 at 12:16 amThis looks perfect Kevin – better than most Indian restaurants. Will have to try to make this one.
momgateway says
May 7, 2010 at 12:33 amI've always wondered how they make tandoori chicken –it's my son's fave dish at Shalimar. Thanks for sharing.
Catherine says
May 7, 2010 at 12:59 amWow Kevin that is such a wonderful picture!
The chicken is mouthwatering!
Kalyn says
May 7, 2010 at 1:13 amI'm drooling here!
Memória says
May 7, 2010 at 2:29 amWow, Kevin! Your tandoori chicken looks great!! You should definitely try adding kasoori/kasuri methi (fenugreek leaves) to your tandoori chicken. It tastes wonderful and has a strong strong smell!! Lovely photo! Wow.
Jane says
May 7, 2010 at 3:25 amThis looks fabulous! I wonder if you can do it on a George Foreman grill? It's the closest thing I've got to a grill.
Diana Evans says
May 7, 2010 at 4:32 amoh yummmmmmmmmm!!! I am making this tomorrow with turkey thigh meat…
thanks Kevin!!!
Cherine says
May 7, 2010 at 6:43 amLooks fabulous!!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
May 7, 2010 at 6:59 amTandoori paste tastes so good! A gorgeous dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
Ana Powell says
May 7, 2010 at 8:02 amGreat combination, Tandoori paste taste so good.
Lovely photo, well done again x
Jan says
May 7, 2010 at 9:29 amLovely! I love tandoori chicken and yours looks good!
Gourmet Free says
May 7, 2010 at 9:30 amHi Kevin
What a nice recipe !!! Grilled Tandoori Chicken is my favorite. once I visit India and visit Lucknow Tunde kababi. your recipe is little bit differ form it. But taste is similar.
Robyn says
May 7, 2010 at 10:05 amGosh, that chicken looks so moist and tasty… YUM
Joanne says
May 7, 2010 at 10:15 amTandoori chicken has the most GORGEOUS smell. You got a great color on these and the spices sound perfect.
Lauren says
May 7, 2010 at 10:46 amAll of those warm spices combined sound like the making of a fantastic marinade! I will definitely be trying this chicken recipe.
Gourmet Free says
May 7, 2010 at 10:50 amHi kevin !
it looks fabulous. tandoori chicken i think it is really interesting. i think it's good combination. i am sure it's really better than of any most famous Indian restaurant.
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says
May 7, 2010 at 11:22 amSmoked paprika is an interesting addition, and not at all traditional. What's more traditional is the addition of a couple of drops of red food coloring. That's how tandoori chicken that you get in restaurants gets its bright color!
Anonymous says
May 7, 2010 at 1:42 pmHow is it Tandoori chicken if it's not cooked in a tandoori? Isn't it just a marinated grilled chicken?
Bellini Valli says
May 7, 2010 at 2:19 pmRob Rainford is a gold mine of delicious barbecue recipes.
Priti says
May 7, 2010 at 2:56 pmWow looks at those…just looks delish…I never added onion in tandoori chicken…next time this recipe for sure am trying
Mona says
May 7, 2010 at 3:04 pmGorgeous click Kevin! Looks yumm.
♥peachkins♥ says
May 7, 2010 at 3:07 pmI ♥ the looks of your Tandoori chicken!
blowing peachkisses
The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
Kirsten says
May 7, 2010 at 3:09 pmI am very impressed with the wonderful color, looks delicious!
The Short (dis)Order Cook says
May 7, 2010 at 6:28 pmI often call "tandoori" chicken anything I marinate in yogurt nad cook in my terracotta pot. It's the closest thing I have to a tandoori oven. 😉 I'd say it's probably better on the grill. those skewers look wonderful.
Jú says
May 7, 2010 at 11:25 pmjust amazing! so perfect. so delicious.
Anderson says
May 8, 2010 at 6:22 am(Found your blog via TasteSpotting.) This looks amazing! Thank you for the recipe. Your blog looks … mmm… yummy! 🙂
humeyra says
May 8, 2010 at 4:15 pmThis looks wonderful.
Have you ever been in Turkey? Come and eat here, I believe you'll enjoy Turkish Cuisine.
PreeOccupied says
May 8, 2010 at 8:47 pmNice. Never had tandoori chicken which looked like Souvlaki.
I usually make tandoori chicken with chicken drumsticks and add some red food color. Instead of the cayenne pepper, I add red chili powder.
Stargazerss says
May 10, 2010 at 9:36 pmThis looks amazing. Can you clarify- these are cut into 1 inch chunks and then jsut placed close together on skewwers? It looks like one big gorgeous strip int eh pic, can't wait to try this! And- do you soak your skewers first? Thanks!!!
Kevin says
May 12, 2010 at 10:57 amStargazerss: Yep, 1 inch pieces. I packed them in there kind of tightly and they look like one large piece though they separate nicely when you pull them off the skewer.
Danielle says
May 15, 2010 at 2:41 pmThat looks so fresh and tasty! Looks like the perfect summer al fresco dinner!
meeso says
May 16, 2010 at 4:23 pmLooks absolutely mouthwatering!
Paul says
May 31, 2010 at 4:02 amThanks Kevin for the best collection of recipes I have found on any food blog! Used this one for my dinner club (credited you) and added a watermelon salsa which seemed to punch it up a notch.
Got raves from all at the dinner.
Thanks again.
Tiff says
July 12, 2011 at 11:22 pmJust made this. I used the tandoori chicken in naan sandwiches with cucumber raita sauce. Good dish. thanks!
Karina says
September 27, 2012 at 2:16 pmThe chicken is sitting in the fridge marinating right now. I can't wait to try it! I cheated a little and bought a roasted pineapple and habanero sauce to serve on the side for dipping. Thanks for the recipe.
Anonymous says
October 12, 2012 at 8:09 pmI dont have an actual outdoor grill, any suggestions on how else I can grill/make this?
Kevin says
October 18, 2012 at 2:35 pmAnonymous: You could use a grill pan or your ovens broiler. Enjoy!
What a Dish! says
December 20, 2012 at 10:01 pmWe just had this for dinner tonight with Raita and grilled Naan- sooooo good!! And so easy to make, too. The yogurt makes the chicken so tender. Can't wait to make this again!
Mohammed Gyasuddin says
January 5, 2013 at 12:54 pmwhat a bakwas dish is it
Mohammed Gyasuddin says
January 5, 2013 at 12:56 pmnice dish…………….