Grilled tandoori chicken thighs are the most perfect barbecue meat for your next summer party. They are easy to make, delicious and so pretty on a plate!
This grilled tandoori chicken thighs recipe is a variation on traditional tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken gets its name from the vessel in which the chicken is cooked called a tandoor. Typically made out of clay, this vessel is heated to high temperatures to cook the food inside it.
For this recipe, we skip the tandoor and use a barbecue instead. We also use boneless thighs for convenience. Typically, tandoori chicken is made with a bone-in cut with the skin removed.
I made this recipe trying to replicate the flavours that I have experienced at friend’s houses so I hope I have done it justice. This recipe is mild to accommodate all members of your family. If spice is not an issue, add cayenne pepper to your liking.
Preparing Tandoori Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Chicken thighs: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this dish. They are easy and quick to cook and keep their moisture well.
Yogurt: A dairy product made from fermenting milk and adding bacterial cultures. It is a great source of probiotics, calcium and protein.
Lemon juice: Lemons are citrus fruit loaded with vitamin C. These somewhat oval, yellow fruit are packed with flavour. They are sour and sometimes tart and add freshness to recipes. For this recipe, we are using the juice of a lemon.
Garam masala: Garam masala is a mix of many spices that are toasted in their whole form before being ground to a powder. The spices typically include cinnamon, coriander, peppercorns, cumin, cardamom, cloves and mace though the variations may vary slightly.
Chili powder: This powder is made up of various varieties of dried chilies. The chilies are dried then ground and combined into this spice mix. Sometimes other spices are mixed in as well which is why you may find that different brands have slightly different flavours.
Ground Coriander: Cilantro is also known as coriander. They are in fact the same however the naming conventions vary between the Americas and other parts of the world. In America, cilantro often references the plant’s fresh stem and leaf while coriander refers to the plant’s dried seeds.
Paprika: I use sweet paprika, or just paprika which is most commonly found in grocery stores. It is not sweet in the sugary sense, but compared to its spicy and smoked siblings it is definitely the sweetest of them all.
Garlic: Garlic is a bulb that is edible and is grown in soil. Though the green shoots it sprouts, called garlic scapes, are also edible, we are referring to the actual bulb that the scapes grow from. Garlic bulbs are made up of multiple cloves and depending on the variety you may have anywhere from 4 to 10 cloves, if not more. This is important to know because recipes will often call for a specific number of cloves which can vary in size greatly.
Ginger: For this recipe, we use fresh ginger which is the root of the ginger plant. It is native to Asia and is packed with antioxidants. Ginger is often used for medicinal purposes in Eastern medicine and is packed with flavour.
How to Make Grilled Tandoori Chicken Thighs
This recipe is very simple to execute. Get your ingredients ready to make the marinade then move on to step 1 below.
Step 1: Make the tandoori chicken marinade
Start by squeezing the juice of half a lemon. Next, peel the garlic and ginger. In a glass bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garam masala, chili powder, coriander, paprika, grated garlic and ginger and food colouring, if using. Stir the marinade well until all the ingredients are well combined and the food colouring is evenly distributed.
Now add the chicken thighs and stir them into the marinade to ensure all the thighs are coated.
Cover the bowl with a lid or cling wrap and move to the fridge for at least an hour.
Step 2: Get ready to barbecue
After at least an hour in the fridge, move the bowl with the chicken out of the fridge.
Now turn on the barbecue and heat it up to about 500ËšF.
Step 3: Barbecue the chicken
Once the barbecue is heated to temperature, place the chicken thighs on the grill removing any excess marinade.
Turn down the heat to medium and cook the chicken for about 8-10 minutes per side.
Substitutions
Boneless skinless chicken thighs: The best cuts to use to make grilled tandoori chicken are bone-in drumsticks or thighs with the skin removed. But, you can definitely also use chicken breasts. If you do decide on chicken breasts, cut the breast in half as if you were to butterfly it. See our video for making our chicken breast in mushroom sauce on how to do this.
Serving Grilled Tandoori Chicken
This grilled tandoori chicken is absolutely delicious with any side. I often serve it with baked saffron potatoes and a salad or grilled foil potato packets and grilled zucchini and corn salad.
With that said, the absolute best way to serve tandoori chicken is with our easy yogurt cucumber raita, grilled spicy corn and warmed naan.
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.Â
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Grilled Tandoori Chicken Thighs Recipe
Equipment
- Cling wrap
- Barbecue
- medium glass bowl
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (½ lb per person)
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 25 ml lemon juice (approx. ½ lemon)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ÂĽ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cube ginger
- Red food colouring (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a glass bowl. Add the chicken thighs and mix until they are well coated. Cover and marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour.1/2 cup plain yogurt, 25 ml lemon juice, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 garlic clove, 1 cube ginger, Red food colouring, 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- After at least 1 hour, remove the chicken from the fridge and turn on the barbecue and grease the grill. Heat up the barbecue to about 500ËšF. Once the barbecue is hot, place the chicken thighs on the grill spacing them out. Turn the flames down to medium, cover the lid and cook the thighs for about 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they are not burning.
- Flip the thighs over, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Once you get a nice char on the chicken you can move the thighs to the top rack to prevent burning.
