Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Kebabs
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Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken. How to make delicious air fryer tandoori chicken kebabs in the air fryer. Using thawed chicken breasts, tandoori chicken in the air fryer is so easy to make, is healthy and very flavoursome.
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken
When I think of tandoori chicken, I think of meals out at the local Indian restaurant when I was growing up and the Indian takeaway I worked at in my teens.
I love Indian food and have loved it since I was old enough to eat my first butter chicken.
On Indian meals out I would often have onion bhajis for starter, butter chicken with pilau rice and a naan bread for my main and would finish with a Bailey’s.
No wonder I have slow cooker butter chicken, instant pot pilau rice and air fryer onion bhajis on Recipe This and that they are among our popular favourite posts.
But whenever I did go for an Indian curry, it was all about the sauce. I used to love layering a naan bread with the curry and loving how the curry sauce soaked into the beautifully cooked garlic naan bread.
Obviously, I had very high calorie tastes as its common that naan bread and butter chicken are the highest calorie items.
The skinny person that went for an Indian meal would always have the tandoori chicken.
For many years I would roll my eyes at it. After all there is no sauce, its just chicken served over salad.
You could call that my fussy teen years.
Though, as an adult I love tandoori chicken and decided to experiment and see just how easy it is to make chicken tandoori in the air fryer.
What Is Tandoori Chicken?
If you are not familiar with tandoori chicken let me explain it to you in a bit more detail before you cook it in the air fryer.
Tandoori chicken is a chicken dish that is prepared by marinating chicken in a yoghurt sauce with lots of delicious Indian seasonings.
Tandoori chicken often looks slightly burnt once cooked. This is because you are grilling, or in our case air frying, chicken while still in its yoghurt.
In a similar way to when we showed you how to make Filipino Barbecue Chicken.
Tandoori chicken is often whole chicken or whole chicken breasts but has become more popular over recent years to make tandoori chicken kebabs.
Why Air Fry Tandoori Chicken?
Air fryer chicken is amazing and if you have not checked it out yet, do have a look at our air fryer chicken recipes.
But some air fryers are a lot more powerful than others and it is EASY to overcook your chicken and end up with dry chicken.
However, cook air fryer chicken in a yoghurt-based marinade like with our air fryer tandoori chicken and it is delicious.
It is not dry.
It is full of moisture.
Though, it is hard to just have one air fryer tandoori chicken kebab.
Tandoori Chicken Breast In Air Fryer
Tandoori chicken breast in the air fryer is so simple.
- Dice chicken breasts and load into marinade.
- Marinade your tandoori chicken overnight.
- The next day load onto kebab skewers and load into the air fryer.
- Cook and serve.
You can also skip steps 1 and 2 if you like. What we did was buy some ready-made tandoori chicken kebabs from the butchers.
We wanted to see how good the marinade was and how they compared to our own.
They were delicious and often your butchers will have a special deal making it cheaper than making your own.
Tandoori Chicken Marinade Ingredients
However, if you would like to make your own, tandoori chicken marinade ingredients are simple and I always have all of them in:
- 3Tbsp Greek Yoghurt
- 2Tsp Garlic Puree
- 2Tsp Ginger Puree
- 2Tsp Turmeric
- 1Tsp Garam Masala
- 1Tsp Coriander
- 2Tsp Paprika
- ½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
Then simply mix the ingredients in a bowl with your diced chicken breast and its ready for air frying.
Or the in between lazy version is to use tandoori seasoning and then you will just need garlic, ginger, yoghurt and tandoori dry rub. Plus, some salt and pepper for the chicken.
What Makes Tandoori Chicken Red?
The bright red colour that you associate with tandoori chicken in restaurants is because of the add in of red colouring. A lot of the time it is high in chemicals.
To achieve a more natural red at home can be done by adding paprika and turmeric.
Is Tandoori Chicken Spicy?
A traditional tandoori chicken served in India will have a lot more cayenne pepper in it than the version I am sharing with you today.
Many families don’t like that level of spice so I have made it milder.
Think of our air fryer tandoori chicken as mildly spiced.
But if you would like it more authentic triple the amount of cayenne pepper.
Is Chicken Tandoori Healthy?
Yes it is. Chicken tandoori is a mixture of Greek yoghurt, lean chicken breast and dry herbs and spices.
It would be suitable for a range of diets including Keto, Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Low Carb, Low Fat etc.
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Ingredients:
- 500 g Chicken Breast
- 3 Tbsp Greek Yoghurt
- 2 Tsp Garlic Puree
- 2 Tsp Ginger Puree
- 2 Tsp Turmeric
- 1 Tsp Garam Masala
- 1 Tsp Coriander
- 2 Tsp Paprika
- ½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Dice the chicken into medium size kebab chunks.
- Load into a mixing bowl all ingredients and mix well with your hands.
- Cover with cling film and marinade in the fridge overnight.
- The next day load onto kebab skewers and place into the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 15 minutes at 190c/375f, turn and then cook for a further 15 minutes at the same temperature.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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I LOVE tandoori chicken and can’t wait to try this in the air fryer.
Oh my goodness! Can’t wait to try! Going to use my tandoori seasoning i have in the kitchen cupboard. Thanks!
Omg, another delicious recipe that I’ve got to try!
So, I have a big family, I want to make 3lbs. of chicken. (I’ll cook it in batches). Do I just triple everything in the marinade?
Hi Lorrane,
If you see the slider on the recipe card then you can move it up to the correct amount of people you feeding and the amounts change as you move the slider up or down ????