Traditionally made in a clay oven{tandoor}, which many of us have now adapted to outdoor grills, indoor ovens and now the moistest version of all is the luscious and spicy Tandoori Chicken – Instant Pot!
Hope you had a great Memorial day weekend! We had a FUN long weekend – we got to hang out with our cousins, played soccer tournament and ran a 5K race. Although it rained all day in the Northeast and was bit chilly for the memorial day BBQ, we did not give up on our plans.
We decided to bring our cookout indoors. We had chicken marinating for 8+ hours, that I cooked in my InstaPot. The result was succulent, fall off the bone, moist and flavorful tandoori chicken, that we enjoyed with some spicy mint chutney and corn pulao!
Tandoori Chicken, marinade uses plain yogurt, mild and bright red Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric, fresh ginger, garlic and garam masala.
The longer it is marinated the more flavorful the chicken tastes. Although you can use chicken breasts or thighs to make Tandoori Chicken, my favorite way is to cook with the drumsticks.
Once the chicken is well marinated, add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot and put the trivet inside the pot. Place the chicken pieces over the trivet, layering the pieces if needed. Close the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 15 minutes followed by 10 minute natural pressure release.
Before serving, you can broil the tandoori chicken in a preheated oven for 5 minutes. We can hardly resist the succulent, aromatic tandoori chicken right out the Instant Pot and always skip the broiling.
Tips for perfect Tandoori Chicken Instant Pot recipe:
- Pat dry the chicken before marinating to avoid access liquids.
- Marinate the chicken for at least an hour.
- Use plain full fat yogurt for the marinade.
- Use fresh garam masala. Homemade garam masala works the best!
Here is a quick video for an easy Tandoori Chicken recipe in Instant Pot:
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- 2 LB 8 Chicken drumsticks, skinned
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt Make It Dairy Free by using Coconut yogurt
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger grated
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1-2 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder or any mild red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon oil
- In a large bowl, add yogurt, ginger, garlic, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, salt, lemon juice and oil. Mix well.
- Dry skinned drumsticks with a paper towel. Put 2-3 slits on each drumstick and apply marinade all over the chicken. Allow the chicken to marinate up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking.
- Add 1 cup water to the Instant Pot insert. Lightly grease the trivet with cooking oil and place inside the pot. Arrange the marinated Chicken pieces on the trivet.
- Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 15 mins followed by Natural Pressure Release. Open Instant Pot.
- Enjoy Tandoori chicken with lime wedges and chutney over steamed rice or Pulao.
Recipe Video
Note:
You can broil the cooked chicken in a preheated oven for 5 minutes. We enjoyed them straight out of the Instant Pot!
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Author: Archana
Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
You’ve inspired my lunch decision Archana. Looks delicious!
That is great Eartha! Let me know how you like it!
Superb 🙂
Cheers !
Thank you Hans!
You made it sound easy. This is great!
Thank you Karina!
Were you able to fit all 8 pieces in one go? I need to prepare this for a party and I am wondering how to cook more pieces at a time? Thanks!
Hi Surabhi! Yes mine fit in one go. Feel free to also stack them up. Spread a little bit of oil between the layers and it will cook well!
If you don’t use chicken on the bone and use eg boneless thighs instead will the cook time reduce?
Hi! Yes, I would cook boneless thighs for 10 mins on the trivet followed by NPR
I made this tonight but it turned out soggy. Any idea why?
Hi Meghan, was the marinade too watery? Also I assume you had the chicken on the trivet? You can also just put it in broiler for 5 mins.
Thanks Archana for the receipe.I will try it some time this week..I have a question on trivet.where can we buy it?
Hi Bharati! I bought it from amazon. Here is the link – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XQMWGQY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B06XQMWGQY&linkCode=as2&tag=ministryofcur-20&linkId=49a92357f2d9fa99f9e257f33410618b
Hi, Thanks for sharing . I have 12 pieces (leg and thigh) similar to size of the ones in the vid. After I stack them up and add oil in between layers, would I add more time to the cooking?
Same time will work!
Hi Archana! I’ve tried this recipe twice and liked the flavors, but thought it was just a bit too spicy for my family. I am using red Kashmiri chili powder. What is the minimum amount that I can use but still retain the tandoori flavor?
Hi Elena, I am glad you enjoy the flavors of this dish. You can reduce the kashmiri red chili powder to 1 teaspoon. Also reduce ginger to 1 teaspoon. That should make the dish less spicy without compromising on the tandoori flavors.
Hi Archana, Thanks a lot for your wonderful recipes. Can you please suggest what would be the oven temperature to broil, since mine turned a bit soggy.
Broil at high or 400 degrees for 5 mins
Hi Archana. I made this for dinner tonight and couldnt believe how well it turned out. I had only 2 thighs and 3 drumsticks, and it cooked very well. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for the feedback Daisy!