Air Fryer Whole Tandoori Chicken

If you fancy a moist, juicy and perfectly charred whole tandoori chicken, put that air fryer to work! Ever since I started making tandoori chicken using my air fryer, there has been no looking back.

This whole tandoori chicken is an ideal choice for any occasion—whether you want to impress your guests with a stunning centerpiece or serve a cozy family dinner.

In this post, I am sharing instructions for making tender & smoky air fryer tandoori chicken covered in a yogurt marinade infused with aromatic Indian spices. The marination time for this recipe is at least 24 hours (you need to start a day ahead). The cooking time is about 1 hour.

Tandoori chicken is a classic indian dish that's easy to prepare - marinate the chicken, forget for a few hours and then roast or air fry it. It's flavorful and perfect to serve a crowd.

Needless to say, we love chicken tandoori. We order it when eating out at indian restaurants, every single time! My girls are huge fan of the spicy, smoky & zesty flavors.

Years back, I developed my tandoori chicken recipe and shared a from- scratch tandoori marinade. It involves grinding whole spices for the ultimate flavor explosion. I have also shared a dry tandoori spice blend that is so amazing for quickly infusing flavor into dishes such as tandoori salmon tikka or tandoori mushroom pizza without needing long marination.

In the last few years, I have received requests for a simplified tandoori marinade using spice powders and pantry staples. In developing this easy tandoori marinade recipe, I kept your feedback in mind.

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoor is a tall, cylindrical clay metal oven that is immensely popular in south asian cuisine to cook a variety of dishes from tikka (lamb tikka) to kababs (seekh kebab) and flatbreads (naan or tandoori roti). Traditionally, charcoal or wood is burnt at the bottom of tandoor.

Quite simply, dishes cooked in a tandoor oven are prefixed or suffixed with the term "tandoori" to describe the distinct smoky and intense flavors that are commonly associated with this method of cooking.

Tandoori chicken is a popular indian chicken dish that delights the palate with aromatic spices, its vibrant reddish color, and smoky flavor. The texture of tandoori chicken is charred and crisp on the outside, while the inside is tender and juicy.

Tandoori Chicken Marinade

Tandoori marinade includes a mixture of thick yogurt, ginger & garlic, ground spices such as garam masala, kashmiri red chilli powder and cumin along with a distinct taste of dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi). A long marination and the smokiness from the tandoor together creates unique texture and taste in the chicken.

Here are a few things I want to highlight about my tandoori marinade recipe.

1. This is an authentic yogurt based tandoori marinade to which I have added spices and flavorings. You will need thick yogurt for making the marinade.
2. I use a combination of Kashmiri red chilli powder(for color) and hot red chilli powder (for heat). Ideally, there is no need to add red food color to the tandoori marinade. If your chilli powders are of good quality, combined with a little turmeric powder, the kashmiri chilli powder will create a bright orange marinade that beautiflly dyes the chicken after cooking.
3. With the measurements I am writing down in recipe card, you will have leftover tandoori marinade after marinating a 4 to 5 pound whole chicken. If you are serving to a large gathering, the marinade is good enough to marinate two whole chickens. The other idea is to slather it on 10-12 pound turkey and serve for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas roast. Another option is to save the marinade and use it for marinating paneer, fish or any kind of meat, or throught out the week as you like. Don't freeze the tandoori marinade. It stays good for about 1 week, refrigerated.
4. For authentic punjabi taste, I use raw mustard oil in the marinade. Mustard oil is quite pungent and an acquired taste for many. If you do not prefer to use it, or are not able to source it, simply use ghee for added aroma.
5. Kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves are a very common dried herb in north indian cooking and they add a unique aroma and mild notes of bitter sweet to the savory tandoori marinade. If you dont have, simply skip them. Unfortunately, there is no substitute.

About My Recipe

In this recipe, I have tried to keep the method and flavors as traditional as possible to make it taste close to authentic whole tandoori chicken.

I purchased a 4.73 pound whole chicken from the store. After removing the giblets, I went on to de skin it. You can look up instructions of removing chicken skin on youtube. It takes extra 15-20 minutes to remove the skin of whole chicken, so plan your time accordingly.

Here in United States, halal shops sell skinless whole chicken or they will remove the skin for you. This is one of the alternative if you don't want to do it yourself.

The reason why I removed the skin is becasue authentic whole roasted tandoori chicken is made with skinless chicken. As a matter of fact, chicken skin is not consumed in Indian cuisine.

Removing the skin will help you cover the whole chicken with marinade easily and the fat from yogurt and oil will keep it moist. As the chicken sits, the marinade will make it really flavorful.

Lastly, please let marinate for 24-72 hours. If you won't allow the whole chicken to marinate long enough, the flavors will not develop. In fact, marinating whole tandoori chicken is one of my favorite meal prep. You marinate the chicken over the weekend and refrigerate for 1-3 days. To cook, place it in the air fryer, it takes about 1 hour and you need to flip the chicken once in between.

Why Use Air Fryer

When I developed my tandoori chicken recipe in 2014, I cooked the tandoori drumsticks in a hot oven and basted the chicken frequently during the roasting process.

Then, last year, when I updated the post, I cooked the chicken legs in my newly owned air fryer. They came out juicy and delicious. I was very impressed and have switched to air fryer tandoori chicken since then.

For reference, I used an 8 qt Chefman brand air fryer while testing this recipe.

• Air fryer is quick and the results are very satisfactory. The whole tandoori chicken was perfectly cooked on the inside, it was moist and had a beautiful charred look. I didn't need to spray or brush with oil again and again.
• Mess free- Overall, I feel that using air fryer is less messy and the compactness of the appliance is an added bonus as compared to opening the hot oven door again and again in your face.

More Reasons To Love This Recipe

• I love the fact that I have extra tandoori marinade on hand that can be utilized for various dishes, such as seafood or paneer.
• Having a whole tandoori chicken meal prepped makes my week so easy. Throughout the week, I make different meals out of it like wraps, salads, tacos, quesadillas or you can shred or chop the chicken and add to your favorite curry sauce.
• The whole tandoori chicken is looks very appetizing when serving. My family is always excited to see it on the table.
• You can either cut the whole chicken and serve it as a starter or present it as the main course with accompanying sides. I'll be sharing a few serving suggestions later in this post.

Ingredients

• Whole Chicken - Choose a fresh and preferably organic whole chicken for the best flavor. I bought a 4.7lb (~2.1 kg) chicken. I removed the gizzards. I de skinned the chicken.

For The Tandoori Marinade

• Whole Yogurt - Make sure to use thick plain yogurt or use hung curd. I use Greek yogurt. The yogurt should not be too sour.
• Ginger Paste & Garlic Paste - Use homemade or store bought.
• Kashmiri Chili Powder - Enhances the red color of the marinade. It lends mild, sweetish heat. Use paprika instead.
• Red Chili Powder - Contributes to the heat and color to the dish. You can dial back the quantity or skip adding it. Use cayenne pepepr instead.
• Garam Masala - A good quality garam masala will lend aroma, kick and warmth to the tandoori marinade. You can use your preferred store bought brand or use homemade garam masala.
• Cumin Powder - Lends a warm and nutty flavor to the marinade.
• Coriander Powder - Adds a slight citrusy flavor to the marinade
• Turmeric Powder- We need very little. Turmeric powder helps in pushing forward the color of kashmiri chilli in the marinade.
• Super Fine Almond flour or Cashew Flour - I like adding nuts to my tandoori paste. You may skip for a nut-free version.
• Kasuri Methi - Dry fenugreek leaves add a pleasnt bitter sweet note and a unique aroma to the marinade. Skip if not available.
• Mustard Oil - Brings in a pungent smoky flavor to the tandoori marinade. Use melted ghee if mustard oil is not available.
• Other Ingredients - Black Pepper Powder, Salt, Sugar, Lemon Juice

Instructions

Prepare The Whole Chicken

1. If you are using frozen chicken, make sure that its fully thawed.
2. Start by removing skin from the chicken. I only leave skin on the wings. Paper towels, a large sharp knife along with kitchen shears are the tools that you are going to need. Look up you tube tutorials on how to go about removing the skin from whole chicken.
3. Once the skin is removed, rinse the chicken under running water. Pat dry using a paper towel. It is important for the chicken to be fully dry before you proceed else the marinade will slip off.
4. Using a kitchen twine, tie up the chicken legs.
5. Using a sharp knife, make cuts & slashes on the chicken breast, chicken thighs and drumsticks. Don't make too many or too deep gashes else the chicken starts tearing or losing its shape while air frying.

First Marination

6. In a small bowl, mix juice from ½ lemon (about 3 tablespoon lemon juice), 1.5 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
7. Using a brush or your hands rub this lemon mixture all over the chicken. Make sure to go inside the gashes, behind the chicken, inside the cavity and every nook and crannie.

Tip - Wear gloves if you are using your hands to avoid staining or burning sensation from chilli powder.

8. Leave the chicken to stand for 1-1.5 hours on the kitchen counter. If its summer time, place it in the refrigerator.

Make The Tandoori Marinade

9. Meanwhile, to a large bowl, add all the tandoori marinade ingredients. Whisk together to make a smooth paste. This recipe makes about 2-2.25 cup of tandoori marinade. For marinating 1 whole chicken, we need only 1 + ¼ cup.

Second Marination

9. Using your hands, rub the tandoori marinade all over the chicken, inside the cavities as well as the space between thighs and drumsticks. Be liberal with the marinade but make sure to not go overboard. Too much marinade will become wet while air frying.
10. Place the marinated whole chicken in a large bowl or a tray, cover using a cling film and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. The longer you marinate, the better the flavors will be. You could marinate up to 3 days.

Tip - Do not skip or rush the marination else the tandoori flavors would not develop.

Air Fry The Whole Tandoori Chicken

11. Next day, pull the marinated whole tandoori chicken out of the refrigerator 1.5 hours prior to air frying. We dont want a cold chicken to go inside the air fryer, this will create temperature gaps and the chicken will become tough.
12. I use 8 qt air fryer for this recipe. Spray or brush the rack of the airfryer with oil. This prevents the chicken from sticking.
13. Place the marinated whole chicken breast side down on the rack. Spray or drizzle the chicken with oil. Air fry at 360F for 40-45 minutes. Start checking around 40 minutes.

14. Open the basket. Flip the chicken using tongs or spatula- whichever you are comfortable it. The chicken will be quite hot and soft, so please be careful while flipping.
15. Slather a little more tandoori paste on the top of the chicken. Spray or brush with oil.
16. Air fry again for another 10-15 minutes for full doneness. If using thermometer, when the internal temperature of chicken thighs and breast area reaches 165F, it is safe to be consumed.

Note - Each appliance is different. You know your appliance better than me. Please use experience with your air fryer and adjust cooking time for doneness.

17. Once the whole tandoori chicken is cooked through, it will have a charred spots all over it. You could air fry for extra 2-4 minutes if you like super charred look and texture.
18. Pull the air fryer basket out, loosely cover chicken with an aluminum foil tent and let the rest for 10-15 minutes.
19. Carefully, pick out the rested tandoori chicken and proceed to serving and slicing. Sprinkle with chaat masala before serving.

Servings Suggestions

• As an appetizer - Serve tandoori chicken wth sliced onion or pickled onions, lemon wedges and green chutney (coriander chutney) for appetizer course. Sprinkle chaat masala. For a sweet side, add a small bowl of tamarind chutney.
• Main Meal - Serve with warmed naan, side of basmati rice, or jeera rice or, mushroom pulao, egg pulao, biryani, kachumber salad (to add fresh crunch) and raita for a full meal. 
• Grilled Vegetables: Grill or roast seasonal vegetables to serve as a side. The flavor of roasted vegetables complement the smokiness of the tandoori chicken.
• Potatoes - One of my personal favorite. Roast some potatoes simply with oil, salt and black pepper and serve as a side.
• In Salads- Shred cooled tandoori chicken and serve with spring greens, a drizzle of your favorite yogurt dressing or green chutney.
• Make wraps, rolls or tacos using different kinds of indian flatbreads like plain parathas or naan or homemade roti.

Recipe Tips

• Spice Levels-Please keep in mind that the taste of this tandoori chicken is intense and it has a kick of spices. Reduce the quantity of garam masala powder and red chilli powder (cayenne powder) if you prefer a milder taste. 
• Skin Removal: Consider removing the chicken skin for authentic indian taste and texture of the cooked tandoori chicken. Removing the skin also allows the marinade to better adhere to the chicken meat as well as in better absorption of flavors by the meat.
• Use Thick yogurt - Else the marinade will get watery and wont stay on the chicken. The consistency of tandoori marinade should be thickish. In due course of time, the salt in the marinade and the moisture of chicken will play a role in the overall consistency. If after mixing you feel that the marinade is runny, add some roasted gram flour or cornstarch to thicken it.
• Marination Time - Allow enough marination time for better flavors. A good marination time also tenderizes the meat. I would not go any less than 24 -36 hours. 
• Cooking Time - Please use the air frying times I have mentioned as a guideline. You will need to monitor cooking time depending on your air fryer brand, quality of chicken as well as the weight and size of the bird.