If you are looking for a flavorful dinner option, this grilled tandoori chicken recipe is just the think. Chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices to make it super tender and delicious. Finish it on a grill or smoker to get flavors similar to what you would find at your favorite Indian restaurant.
This yummy tandoori chicken recipe has been a favorite in my family for decades. I am not sure where MiMi originally got the recipe, but it is still one of her favorites.
By now you know that we love using a bit of yogurt in chicken marinades. It just really helps to keep the chicken so tender and juicy.
It is the star in our lemon grilled chicken recipe and I even snuck a little bit into my tequila lime grilled chicken. This recipe takes it to the next level with a thick coating of yogurt and spices.
It is hard to replicate the traditional cooking method of a tandoor. Growing up, by dad always grilled the chicken.
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This time, I put the chicken thighs on the smoker and let them cook low and slow most of the way through. At the end I turned it up a bit to finish them off and create some little bits of char around the edges.
That char really adds to the flavor and makes it taste more like you would expect. It was an hit at our dinner table as well.
I don’t know what took me so long to make it to share with you. The only change I made was to increase the paprika a bit to try to enhance the red color.
It did help a bit, but it still wasn’t as red as the restaurant versions. (I read they oftenuse food coloring to enhance the color like we did in char siu chicken.)
You could use a smoked paprika if you want to amp up the smoky flavors. No matter what, it is going to be delicious.
We served ours with some roasted zucchini and summer squash and some roasted potatoes with curry powder. It was a wonderful meal. We hope you try it and think the same thing.
Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl or Ziploc bag, mix together the 1 cup plain yogurt, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger, 2 cloves garlic1 Tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Add the 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs and make sure it is all coated with the marinade.
- Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but up to 24 hours.
- Remove chicken from marinade and grill or smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 165℉. (We put ours on a 225℉ pellet grill for 45 minutes, then flipped it and turned the temperature up to 400℉ for about another 10-15 minutes.)
Notes
Video
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I love that you thought to add extra paprikas to give more color to the recipe. I’m guessing I got the recipe from Taste of Home magazine as that’s where I got recipe ideas from then. It’s been a favorite of mine for so many years. MiMi
That’s probably right! Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve always wanted to try chicken like this! Great recipe!
You’ll love it!