Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken is a juicy crispy Chicken marinated in spices and cooked until perfection. Makes an amazing party appetizer.
Juicy delicious Tandoori Chicken is perfect for a weekend dinner or a pot luck meal. With Instant Pot no babysitting is there. The chicken gets cooked perfectly with less effort.
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What is Tandoori Chicken
Tandoori chicken ( pronounced as tuhn·doo·ree) is a popular chicken dish. It is prepared by marinating the chicken in yogurt and spices and then cooked to perfection. It is cooked in the traditional tandoor oven. The dish has its origin in the Indian subcontinent and is very popular now.
We get the name Tandoori Chicken from the name of the tandoor grill that we use for cooking. It is like a cylinder and the chicken is grill cooked. This is the traditional way of cooking tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken also has a bright red color. In restaurants, they usually add red food color for appearance. I am skiing food color and using Kashmiri red chili powder. You can use the same or preferably any organic edible food grade color. Or just skip it if you do not prefer.
It is a very popular appetizer or starter in restaurants and is usually served with flatbreads.
Ingredients for Tandoori Chicken
Chicken - Use chicken drumstick pieces. These pieces are best suited for tandoori chicken. However, you may also use any chicken pieces with bones.
Yogurt - Use thick greek yogurt for a more creamy marinade.
Minced ginger and garlic - Ginger and garlic add a lot of flavor to the chicken. Instead, you can also use ginger garlic paste.
Spice powders- Using a variety of spice powders and I have given the quantity in the recipe card below.
Dried fenugreek leaves - These add flavor to the chicken and they are available in all Indian groceries. You can skip if you are not able to source.
Oil - You can use any edible cooking oil. I used peanut oil. Oil helps in binding the marinade together.
FAQ's
Difference between Chicken Tikka and Tandoori Chicken
We cook the chicken tikka in skewers along with onions and bell peppers. Whereas we cook the Tandoori Chicken by marinating the chicken in yogurt and spices.
Why do we marinate the chicken?
The longer we marinate the chicken the spices infuse well into the chicken and this makes the meat tender. This helps the chicken to cook juicy and perfectly. However, do not marinate for more than 8 hours. If I run out of time. I marinate the chicken and cling wrap and put it in the fridge for 30 mins. This works well too.
How to make Tandoori Chicken in Instant Pot
In a mixing bowl add in the thick yogurt. Along with that add in the minced ginger and minced garlic.
Next, add in all the spice powder.
Also, add in 1 tbsp of oil.
Combine everything and prepare the marinade.
Now take the chicken drumsticks. Draw slits.
Apply the prepared marinade generously over the chicken and let it marinate overnight or for at least 1 hour.
Next let's prepare the Instant pot to add 1 cup of water and then use a tall trivet. I placed a pan below and then placed my steam basket above that. This is to adjust the height and to prevent the water from touching the chicken. If you have a tall trivet you can directly place the chicken n that.
Stack the chicken on the trivet or the basket.
Close the Instant pot and set 10mins in high pressure in the Pressure cook mode.
. After the cooking time. wait for 10 mins of natural pressure release and do a quick release and open the Instant Pot. The chicken is now cooked perfectly however for a crispy chicken we will have to broil in the oven.
Broil the chicken in the oven for 2-3 mins until the skin is crisp.
Crispy juicy Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken is ready.
Tips & Variations
- We can use up to 6 chicken drumsticks in this recipe.
- You can also cook Tandoori Chicken in the air fryer, Oven, or even stovetop.
- If cooking in an air fryer Cook at 360 F for 15 mins. Brush little oil and cook.
- If cooking in oven Grill cook in the preheated oven at 350 F for 40 mins. Flip the chicken halfway and cook.
How to serve Tandoori chicken
Drizzle in some lemon juice and serve the chicken. It goes well with Cilantro chutney or mayonnaise. You can also serve some onion slices or pickled onions.
Goes well with some Naan bread or You can stuff and serve in Pita bread.
Similar Chicken Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken
Standard 1 cup measures 240 ml
Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken drumsticks
- ¼ cup Yogurt
- 1 tsp Minced Ginger
- 1 tsp Minced garlic
- 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Pepper Powder
- Salt
- ½ tsp Dried fenugreek leaves
- 1.5 tbsp Oil
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add in the thick yogurt. Along with that add in the minced ginger and minced garlic.
- Next add in all the spice powder.
- Also add in 1 tbsp of oil.
- Combine everything and prepare the marinade.
- Now take the chicken drumsticks. Draw slits.
- Apply the prepared marinade generously over the chicken and let it marinate overnight or for at least 1 hour.
- Next let's prepare the Instant pot to add 1 cup of water and then use a tall trivet. I placed a pan below and then placed my steam basket above that. This is to adjust the height and to prevent the water from touching the chicken. If you have a tall trivet you can directly place the chicken n that.
- Stack the chicken on the trivet or the basket.
- Close the Instant pot and set 10mins in high pressure in the Pressure cook mode.
- After the cooking time. wait for 10 mins of natural pressure release and do a quick release and open the Instant Pot. The chicken is now cooked perfectly however for a crispy chicken we will have to broil in the oven.
- Broil the chicken in the oven for 2-3 mins until the skin is crisp.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, the nutrition value provided here is an estimate. It will vary based on the quantity and brands of the products used.
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