Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken - Spicy Indian Chicken

Shilpa

5 from 2 votes

Let's replicate the clay oven cooked chicken in the air fryer.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 30

Marinade time included in prep time 30

Total Time 1 10

Servings: 4

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

7 drumsticks (skin peeled)
1 cup plain greek yogurt
3.5 tbsp oil of choice (divided)
2 tsp ground coriander (dhaniya powder)
1 tsp ground cumin (jeera powder)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (haldi powder)
1.5 tsp red chili powder (cayenne pepper)
1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
2.5 tsp garam masala
1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste (either freshly minced in equal quantities or store bought)
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed or bottled)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper (kali mirch)

Mix 2 tbsp oil with all the other ingredients except chicken. Stir well.
Using a sharp knife, cut about 2 to 4 slits across the chicken drumsticks about 2 to 3 inches wide and deep.
Add chicken in the marinade and coat it well. Let it sit in the marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Ideally 6 hours marinade time is perfect but in a time bind 30 minutes is good too.
When you are ready to cook, rub inside of air fryer basket with oil. Keep some left over oil for the chicken.
Preheat the air fryer at 350°F for 5 minutes.
Once it is preheated, add chicken and place it in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Discard the left over extra marinade. Do not overcoat the chicken with it.
Air fry at 360°F for 10 minutes. Add some oil to the chicken, flip the chicken, and air fry for another 10 minutes.
Then up the temperature to 370°F for 10 minutes. Check at the 5 minute mark and flip it if you like it to be over crispy. I cook mine for full 30 minutes but you could do 25 minutes if you'd like.
Serve with cilantro chutney, Indian flatbread or with lettuce wraps.

Ground cayenne pepper and red chili powder can be used interchangeably as both of them make the dish spicy. So if you don’t have red chili powder you can use cayenne pepper instead.
On a scale of 1 to 5, the spice levels in this recipe would be at level 3.5. So if you don't like very spicy food you can reduce the amount of red chili powder.