Tandoori Chicken is a naturally gluten free recipe I've been making for decades, long before every sauce imaginable was available in jars. As you read labels and learn more about gut health, many cooks prefer cooking with basic ingredients and plenty of spices.
In this recipe the meat is tenderized by a spicy yogurt marinade that gets its' red colour from both the tomato paste and the spices. Some recipes use red food colouring to intensify the colour but I prefer to skip the artificial colouring.
Authentic tandoori chicken gets its' name from the tandoor oven it is traditionally cooked in. We cook it on the barbecue in the summer and in the oven all winter. Once you've made it three times it's a quick week night dinner anytime.
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Ingredients
Indian cooking is all about the spices and if you need to expand your collection this is the time to do it. Ground coriander and garam masala may be new but they're important for many Indian dishes.
- Plain yogurt
- Olive oil
- Tomato paste
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Ground coriander
- Garam masala
- Cayenne
- Saffron - Considered the most expensive spice in the world, it is used in small amounts but is always worth it.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Cook Once, Eat Twice
When I'm planning ahead I make sure I have enough chicken for two meals. Then I use the Cook Once, Eat Twice strategy in two ways.
I cook the whole recipe, serve half for dinner and freeze the rest for a second meal.
In the summer I'm more likely to freeze half of chicken raw. It marinates while it freezes and again when it thaws so it goes right into the freezer. Then one day I'll have grilled chicken on the barbecue.
Dinner Club: An East Indian Menu
My East Indian Dinner Club Menu includes this Tandoori chicken. For entertaining I cube up boneless chicken and thread it on skewers for an impressive kebab presentation of an everyday favourite.
This recipe is adapted from an old cookbook by well-known and much loved Calgary cookbook author, Noorbanu Nimji. A Spicy Touch is the first Indian cookbook I bought and it has many recipes I still enjoy.
A Follower Photo
Thanks to Sue Jennett for sharing her photo of my Tandoori chicken and saffron rice. I love that hibiscus blossom. Sue is a friend and host of A Canadian Celiac Podcast. If you haven't heard it yet, check it out. Listening to podcasts is the best way I know to keep up on changes in the gluten free space.
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Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
- 12 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
MARINADE/SAUCE
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger root
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder (East Indian if you have it)
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 8 strands of saffron (optional)
Instructions
- Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. Pour over chicken and marinate 4 hours or overnight.
BARBECUE METHOD
- Grill chicken over low or medium heat until browned. Transfer upper rack and finish cooking over indirect heat to internal temperature is 165℉, 45-60 minutes for bone-in thighs.
OVEN METHOD
- Cook in 350°F oven for 45-60 minutes until cooked through.
Nutrition
More Recipes Using Saffron
Once you bought saffron you'll want to try these two recipes. Fragrant Saffron Rice, you will not believe how a bit of onion and a few threads of saffron can transform rice! Every version of paella should have saffron, this is my Paella with Seafood.
Mia
Delicious food.
Cinde Little
Thanks Mia, I'm glad you liked it!