Grilled Tandoori Chicken is an easy-to-make, juicy, and delicious dish packed full of flavors. Serve it with naan bread, any flavored rice, or your favorite salad. It is the best option for summer backyard barbecues.
Recipe card
Grilled Tandoori Chicken - Summer Grilling Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Outdoor grill Best and Affordable
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken Drumsticks
- ¼ cup Lemon juice or ½ cup Yogurt
- 2 tablespoon Garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch Ginger grated
- 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder adjust to taste
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Tandoori Masala powder or Garam masala powder.
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable oil or melted butter for basting.
Instructions
Grilled chicken marinade
- Use a sharp knife to make some slashes (or cuts or gashes) on the chicken pieces. This allows the marinade to penetrate faster and even speeds up the cooking time.8 Chicken Drumsticks
- For tandoori marinade: In a bowl, add yogurt (lemon juice), garlic, ginger, red chile powder, tandoori masala, salt, and mix. Taste check and adjust the spices.¼ cup Lemon juice, 2 tablespoon Garlic cloves, 1 inch Ginger, 1 ½ teaspoon Red chile powder, 1 to 2 teaspoon Tandoori Masala powder or Garam masala powder., 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- Add chicken pieces and ensure each piece is well coated with the marinade.
- Cover this and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. You can keep this marinated chicken for upto 2 days.
- If refrigerating overnight, make sure you keep the chicken out of the refrigerator at least 2 hours prior to grilling.
Indian grilled tandoori chicken
- Prepare an outdoor charcoal grill (barbecue or BBQ).
- Place marinade-coated chicken on the grill.
- Grill chicken until it is golden brown and cooked through, about 12 to 13 minutes on each side or a total of 24-26 minutes. Apply oil for the chicken around the 12-minute mark.2 tablespoon Vegetable oil or melted butter for basting.
- If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should read 165 ℉.
- Serve with lime wedges and any salad, grilled naan, ghee rice, or garlic turmeric rice, and enjoy.
Notes
- Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator for flavors to penetrate it. You can marinate it for a maximum of 48 hours. If you are in a rush, let it marinate for 15 minutes before grilling.
- If tandoori masala powder is difficult to find, substitute it with garam masala powder or Indian curry powder.
- Vary the amount of spices as per your taste.
- Store leftover tandoori chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
- I have kept this tandoori chicken recipe super simple with easily available spices. You can even add turmeric powder, roasted coriander powder, cumin powder, and black pepper powder if desired.
- And if you are a vegetarian, you can still try out this recipe by substituting meat with tofu, babycorn, mushroom, sweet potato, etc.
- Garlic powder and onion powder can also be used.
Nutrition
About the recipe
The best part of Memorial Day or the Fourth of July weekends is the fun we have grilling delicious food in our backyard 🙂 Last year, we prepared grilled tandoori-style chicken, potatoes, and sweet potatoes on our favorite outdoor grill. We also grilled some ripe plantains for dessert.
On a side note, if you have not tried grilling plantains, you should try it at your next barbecue. The grilled plantains were chewy, sweet, and tasty; even my little one loved them.
Grilled chicken is one of the delicious ways to eat chicken. The only trick here to get it right and flavorsome is to marinate it for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. The longer you marinate, the better.
While you are here, don't miss out on some of the best summer recipe ideas. Check out my recipe for the best tandoori cauliflower, tandoori-style potatoes, and tastiest paneer tikkas!
Ingredients
- Chicken Drumsticks were chosen as they are easy to grab and enjoy. Use any cut of meat of your choice. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Lemon juice adds tanginess and helps tenderize the meat. Low-moisture yogurt can be used as a replacement here.
- Kashmiri Red chilli powder is added for color and spiciness. It can be substituted with regular chilli powder, paprika, cayenne, etc.
- Garlic and ginger: add flavor and aroma to the grilled meat.
- Tandoori masala powder is a blend of different spices that is readily available in grocery stores. If this is not available, you can use Indian curry powder or garam masala powder.
- Salt to taste.
- Vegetable oil is used for basting the chicken. Basting helps in even roasting. Using melted butter instead of oil adds a rich nutty flavor to the grilled chicken.
Check the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Grilled chicken marinade
In a bowl, add lemon juice, chile powder, garlic powder, tandoori masala, and salt, and mix. Add chicken pieces and ensure each piece is well coated with the marinade. Cover this and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Charcoal grilled chicken
Place marinade-coated chicken on the prepared outdoor gas/charcoal grill (barbecue or BBQ). Grill chicken until it is golden brown and cooked through, about 12 to 13 minutes on each side or a total of 24-26 minutes. Apply oil over the chicken around the 12-minute mark.
If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should read 165 degrees F. Tandoori-style Grilled Chicken is now ready. Serve with lime wedges, and enjoy.
Expert Chef Tips
- Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator for flavors to penetrate it. You can marinate it for a maximum of 48 hours. If you are in a rush, let it marinate for 15 minutes before grilling.
- If tandoori masala powder is difficult to find, substitute it with garam masala powder or Indian curry powder.
- Vary the amount of spices as per your taste.
- Store leftover tandoori chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
- I have kept this tandoori chicken recipe super simple with easily available spices. You can even add turmeric powder, roasted coriander powder, cumin powder, and black pepper powder if desired.
- And if you are a vegetarian, you can still try out this recipe by substituting meat with tofu, babycorn, mushroom, sweet potato, etc.
- Garlic powder and onion powder can also be used.
What to serve with tandoori chicken?
- Serve tandoori chicken with simple Indian mint chutney or almond chutney as an appetizer.
- Serve it with cucumber salad or crunchy Thai salad.
- Tandoori chicken is also a great accompaniment for naan, dinner rolls, or any Indian bread.
- Serve it over a bed of basmati rice or, ghee rice or garlic turmeric rice.
FAQs
Tandoor is a clay-lined oven where meat is cooked on skewers by placing them vertically in the pit.
A grill is made of metal, and meat is cooked horizontally by placing it over metal grates.
Place the chicken breasts in the high heat zone for a few minutes to get beautiful grill marks on both sides, then move to the medium heat zone to finish cooking. Once off the grill, let them rest for 5 minutes. These steps ensure juicy and tender grilled chicken every single time.
Yes. Any portion of the chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or wings), whether with or without bone, can be used to make tandoori grilled chicken. For boneless chicken, use skewers to cook the marinated meat. Adjust the cooking time accordingly. Internal temperature must be 165 F.
More summer grilling recipes to try
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Note: We originally posted this tandoori grilled chicken in May 2018. It has now been modified in April 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Lacy
This looks sooo tasty!
Ruthie Ridley
My kind of chicken!!! Looks amazing!!
Joan Cajic
I am having chicken tomorrow and this looks really good. I think I will be trying it.
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife
These look so delicious and flavorful! I'll have to try them!
Jennifer Maune
Oh my goodness, this looks so good! Definitely will have to try this next chicken night!
-Jennifer