Tandoori Chicken || Indian Style Baked Chicken (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)

If you like Indian food and like chicken then I can bet that you would have definitely tasted Tandoori Chicken:) If not, then you need to immediately rectify that!  Tandoori Chicken probably helped popularize Indian cuisine in the rest of the world. And Chicken tikka masala where this tandoor baked chicken is dunked in a delicious creamy tomato gravy is every ‘curry’ and ‘chicken lovers’ dream curry.

I have made Tandoori style chicken numerous times over the years although I had never posted a recipe until now. I did post a Nepalese version of Tandoori Chicken sometime back which has tomato in the marinade.  Usually I would just make Tandoori chicken by making a marinade in yoghurt with ginger, garlic, some coriander, cumin, cayenne and garam masala.  I believe cumin and the ginger-garlic paste is what gives a Tandoori chicken its unique flavor.  The chicken is nice and slightly crispy on the outside while really really moist and succulent on the inside. And it is just oozing with flavor!

Of late since I avoid dairy on my Paleo diet, I have been omitting yoghurt. And I have been using lemon juice instead to impart acidity to tenderize the meat.  That works pretty great too. So last week as I was making a new batch, I remembered to take the pics and note down ingredients so I could post this recipe! The longer you marinate the chicken, the tastier your tandoori chicken will be! Also, tandoori chicken has a special flavor because it is baked in a tandoor (clay oven). So in my version, I tried to get a smokey flavor by broiling the chicken for a couple mins in the end.

The tandoori chicken tastes great with some plain white rice and dal (lentil curry). That’s how my family enjoys them.  I either eat them with a salad on the side or make Chicken tacos using my homemade cassava tortillas. So so yum! I have stated AIP version within the recipe.