Baked Tandoori Chicken Curry
This Oven-Baked Tandoori Chicken Curry recipe is so simple yet tastes like you spent hours on it. Easy and authentic, this recipe requires only 20 minutes of prep time!
“Wow, this was one of the best tasting tandoori chickens I’ve ever had! Thank you!”
Manal
If you’re like me, you have your reliable, ‘go-to’ recipes for company. These are recipes that you’re familiar with, can prepare in advance, and can whip up with comfort and ease. (Chicken Kofta is another great quick and easy recipe.)
This baked tandoori chicken curry has been one of mine for years. Originally adapted from Fauzia’s Saucy Baked Chicken, it’s one of those recipes that I used to make when I was just starting to host guests, when I wasn’t as comfortable with elaborate dinners but still wanted the meal to feel special. (For more easy chicken dishes, check out my collection of 15+ Pakistani & Indian Chicken Recipes.)
How to make Tandoori Baked Chicken Curry
This baked tandoori chicken curry is a breeze to make.
- Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and chop them up to form a smooth paste.
- Marinate the chicken (overnight is ideal).
- Cover and bake!
- Remove the foil and give it a little broil at the end for the full tandoori effect.
Like the original recipe suggests, I use the leftovers as a filling or topping for Tandoori Chicken Pizza (a great next-day meal for overnight guests).
Chicken Marinade Ingredients
- Whole Chicken – I buy this pre-cut. You can also substitute bone-in chicken thighs or boneless chicken, though it’ll require a shorter cook time.
- Red Onion – Red onion is less pungent than yellow, which works well here since the onions are not being sautéed.
- Yogurt – An essential ingredient here. Coconut milk would be a great dairy-free substitute.
- Tomato Paste – Tomatoes have too much water content so tomato paste is ideal here.
- Oil – Any oil will work here.
- Crushed garlic + ginger – I add a small amount to get the flavor without being overpowering.
- Tandoori Masala Powder – This is what gives it the Tandoori taste. See FAQ if you’d like to skip it.
- Spices – I use a handful of curry spices to enhance the flavor.
- Green Chili Pepper – Omit if you don’t want the extra heat.
- Cilantro & Lemon juice – These are meant to balance and enhance the flavors.
Baked Tandoori Chicken Curry FAQs
Many ovens have a broil function set to a high temperature (up to 550F). The broil just adds the char (tandoori) effect. If you’re using boneless chicken and are afraid it’ll dry out, feel free to skip this step.
First of all, increase salt because Tandoori Masala generally includes salt in the ingredients. I’d also suggest increasing the other spices and substituting 2 tbsp of the tandoori masala with 1 tbsp of a garam masala that you like. Taste the mixture and adjust as needed. Note that the raw curry will be sharp-tasting before cooking.
It would bake in less time. I’d say 30-40 minutes total would be sufficient.
What to Serve with Baked Tandoori Chicken Curry
Typically, curries with lots of gravy (like Classic Chicken Curry) go well with both rice and roti, and curries with minimal gravy (like Mixed Vegetable Curry) go well with roti. Since Tandoori Chicken Curry is a ‘dry’ curry, it goes incredibly well with Tandoori naan, roti, or other bread.
As always, if you have any questions or if you try this recipe, be sure to let me know in the comments!
More Chicken Curry recipes:
- Authentic Chicken Korma
- Chicken Karahi
- Coconut Chicken Curry with Potatoes
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken (Easy & Authentic)
Leftovers? Shred the chicken off the bones and use them in this Tandoori Chicken Pizza!
Baked Tandoori Chicken Curry (Easy & Authentic)
Ingredients
- 1 (~2.5 lbs) whole chicken, cut up, skinless
- 1 medium to large red onion, cut into eighths
- 1 1/2 cups plain, whole-milk yogurt
- 2-3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp neutral oil, I use avocado or grapeseed
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
- 2 tbsp tandoori masala powder*
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp each turmeric powder, cumin powder, & coriander powder, optional
- 1/4 tsp Asian red chilli powder or cayenne, or to taste
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste (depending on tandoori masala powder)
- 1 small green chili pepper, cut in half
- 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
- ½-1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Equipment
- Roasting Pan or Baking Dish
Instructions
- Use a knife to cut 2-3 slits into each chicken piece and place in a large bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients listed in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour this mixture onto the chicken and mix to ensure the chicken is thoroughly coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, preferably overnight.
- If possible, remove the chicken from the fridge to allow to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken pieces side by side (with its marinade) in a 9" x 13" oven-safe pan or roaster. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and place the baking dish on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and use a tong to turn over the chicken pieces. Cover with foil again and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the foil, turn your broiler on to high, and let the chicken broil for about 2-3 minutes. Then, turn the pieces over and broil again for 5-6 minutes, or until the chicken has a nice charred finish.
- Serve with naan or baked French fries and a salad.
75 Comments on “Baked Tandoori Chicken Curry”
Made this for iftari and i love it!
It turned out perfectly
Plus can be made the night before to just pop in the oven
So true! Very perfect for iftari. Thank you for sharing, Sualiha!
Hi! Can I substitute shrimp for this recipe and if so, how long should I bake it? Thank you so much!
Hello! I haven’t tried making it with shrimp, but I’d suggest baking it first without the shrimp, then adding it in the last 10-15 minutes. Would love to hear if you try it!
WOW!!!! Only change I made was, I used light sour cream instead of yogurt and didn’t add any hot peppers as I didn’t have any. If I could give this 10 stars, I would! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Okay now I have to try it with sour cream! Sounds so delicious. Thank you for sharing, Veronik!
Would this freeze well? I am envisioning prepping everything up to the baking point in a covered aluminum tray, and freezing it raw. From there, thaw the dish in the fridge overnight and bake as instructed. Do you think this would work, or do you have any suggestions to make it work better?
Hi Laura, I haven’t tried freezing it so I can’t say for sure, but I think the yogurt may separate or release too much water. The way you’ve described seems like the best way you could freeze & thaw. Just be sure to get it close to room temperature before baking to prevent curdling from the quick temperature rise. Would love to hear if you try it!
Hi, I’m excited to try this!! If I can successfully do so, next will be the biryani!
I wanted to ask though, can I use a whole cut up chicken with the skin on? And how will that be different in cook time and how can I get the skin to be crispy/not soggy? I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you!
Hi Sameha! I think the amount of marinade may be too much for the whole chicken, but the remaining can be used for the gravy/curry. Regarding how to make it crispy, my friend Ali from Alexandra Cooks has a really good article on roasting a chicken.
This was absolutely fantastic and so easy to make. My partner and I have tried multiple of your recipes, and they’ve all been delicious, but this one (due to its ease and simplicity) really stands out. Even though I spent maybe a total of 30 minutes physically preparing it, the flavor, texture and appearance makes it seem like it took me all day to do. I’d say we’ll make it again next week, but you have so many other recipes we’re excited to try! Thanks for sharing your passion.
So wonderful to hear this, Lee! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment. Hope you try many more!
Could this be made in an air fryer?
Hi Mariam. I’m not sure that’d work because it has so much sauce. You could probably cook the chicken and sauce separately and that would work!
Hi, i made this recipe but it seems that it is very watery, i baked it for 2 hrs
Hello! It is naturally a little bit watery because of the contained moisture. Did you bake it that long with the foil? If so, try removing the foil earlier so it can dry up.
Hello, thanks for your reply.. i was just wondering why it cooks very slow especially the chicken where in fact i believe that i followed all the procedure on how to bake it..and yes i put foil on it..
This was amazing, mashaAllah! So simple and convenient to make but literally tastes like restaurant quality…but better cause it’s at home!
So happy you think it’s restaurant quality! Thank you for taking the time to review!
This is just delicious.. A great weekday family dinner, so tasty and yet so easy, it’s actually Fool Proof, perfect for The Nouvus Indian Cuisine Chef (there’s no going wrong) back on the menu next Friday.
Thank you so much, Erica. Makes me so happy to hear that 🙂