I know, that I have done a tandoori chicken recipe on the blog before, but i am doing it again as this one is special and it also contains the secret restaurant recipe ingredients to make the tandoori exactly like the tasty tandoori chicken you get in the Indian restaurant right from the tandoor (Indian clay oven).

Besides this one, is a recipe for a whole 1 kg chicken which you can cook in your home oven and get the restaurant tandoori chicken yummy taste.

 The Tandoori  Chicken – Secret Restaurant Recipe

Two things to keep in mind to get the taste just right  just like the secret restaurant recipe is:

1.The tandoori chicken needs to be marinated well and so it is best to be left in the refrigerator at least overnight to marinate.

2. The oven needs to be heated to the maximum ( 200 to 300 ) before you put the chicken in the oven and  then heat can be lowered later.

The secret restaurant recipe for tandoor chicken

Secret Recipe for Tandoor Chiken Ingredients

1 kg whole chicken
1 teaspoon salt ( + add little rock salt if you have any)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon orange food coloring
2 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoons chilli powder or a little bit more is you want it spicier
2 teaspoons Corriander powder
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon kalonjee seeds( Black cummin seeds)
1 very very small pinch of ( kala namak)black salt ( between your 2 fingers pinch)
1/2 teaspoon raw dry mango powder

Changes from previous tandoori chicken recipe

You don’t need onion for the marinade ( but it can be used for dressing), I have added black salt , raw mango powder and also Kalonjee ( black cumin seeds) which are the secret ingredients that tandoor chefs wont tell you. Please keep it a secret

DIRECTIONS for preparation 

Remove skin from whole chicken , and cut slits ( 5 to 6) into them lengthwise in different areas of the chicken where you want the marinade to penetrate.

Place  chicken in a a deep mixing bowl and sprinkle all the above mentioned spices and powders over the whole of chicken with  some salt and lemon juice.

Now mix all those spices up with yoghurt and the chicken. Mix it well  and spread this marinade into  the  whole chicken to let it seep into the chicken.

Set it aside in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 4 to 5 hours minimum if you are in a hurry.

Preheat your oven the maximum heat ( maybe 250 to 300) high heat.

Make sure you have drizzled a generous sprinkling of vegetable oil/olive oil on the chicken and around the chicken.

Check the chicken after half hour and turn it on the other side. You can collect and drizzle any juices or oil left in the tray over the chicken itself. At this stage  you can also sprinkle some more oil when turning it upside down.

Cook for a further 15 minutes or then check if the chicken is looking already cooked by piercing it with knife.

You are now ready to have a nice tasting tandoori chicken just like in the restaurants

( The 2 main steps that help you get that nice moist juicy chicken is letting it marinade overnight and also heating the oven up nice and hot before putting the chicken in , so that it cooks in the least possible time with a high temperature just like a nice clay hot oven. Make sure you turn down the temperature a bit 10 mins after putting it in the real hot oven)

Hope you enjoyed your nice secret restaurant style tandoori chicken. Let me know how this worked out  for you or if you have any questions  about this recipe.

Recipe by jeff

Related posts:

Recipe for Hyderabadi Keema ( Lamb or Beef spciy mince ) Recipe for Rajasthan Vegetarian Kichdi Tasty Vada Pav Recipe – Indian Street food