Tandoori Chicken Wings (in Air Fryer & in Oven)

Smokey and Spicy flavored Tandoori Chicken Wings are a favorite Indian appetizer recipe. Chicken Wings are coated in a spice mixture of Yogurt, Cumin, Garam Masala, and other spices and kept overnight. It is then Air Fried or can be baked or grilled.

This extremely delicious Indian Tandoori Chicken Wings is a serious crowd-pleaser, especially for game nights.

Serve it with your favorite Indian Chutney or Blue Cheese Dressing and it's going to be a sure hit in the fam.

Tandoori Chicken Wings

Hey friends, So today I'll be sharing with y'all this amazing Indian Tandoori Chicken Wings Recipe. It's a family favorite recipe in my home and we love to make it for game night or just a quick evening appetizer. People in my home also love to enjoy these with some homemade Chai, especially during the cold days 🙂

Jump to:

• Tandoori Chicken Wings
• What does "Tandoori" Means?
• What is a Tandoor?
• Indian Chicken Wings
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Instructions
• Why Not Make Tandoori Chicken Wings on Stovetop?
• Tandoori Chicken Wings in oven
• Tandoori Chicken Wings in Air fryer
• 🥗 Serving Suggestions
• 📖 Other Chicken Recipes
• Tandoori Chicken Wings (in Air Fryer & in Oven)
• Storage Instructions
• Make Ahead Instructions:

What does "Tandoori" Means?

Tandoori refers to meat or anything else which is cooked in a "TANDOOR". Now, what is a Tandoor? Tandoor is a large clay pot that is used to cook meat or bread or vegetables over a charcoal fire.

What is a Tandoor?

Tandoor is typically a huge clay pit, which holds a small fire created with Charcoal. The amount of fire and heat is controlled by the amount of oxygen entering the oven through a small window which is made at the bottom of the clay pot.

Generally, Meat or Bread is passed through an iron skewer and placed inside the hot clay pot until it gets cooked. The temperature inside is extremely hot, almost about 600 to 700F and this results in Meat getting cooked to perfection very quickly, the spices, also getting cooked with the Chicken and resulting in a slightly burnt taste, along with the smokey taste of the Charcoal, which we love about any Tandoori Recipe.

The slightly burnt and smokey flavor is what makes any Tandoori recipe so amazing. It's in fact the only highlight we love about these Tandoori recipes.

Call it like a traditional Indian grill, it's hugely popular, and things like Naan Bread or Stuffed Naan Bread is known as "Kulchas" are made here.

Also, Tandoori Chicken is such a popular Indian recipe. It's humongously popular in North India.

When you visit places like Punjab, Delhi, or Lucknow, which are known for their extreme climates. You'll find people in those cold winter days, cooking by this hot tandoor or cold winter nights and enjoying conversations with family and friends.

Indian Chicken Wings

You must have had various varieties of Chicken Wings. Such as Thai Chicken Wings, Sriracha Wings, Korean Chicken Wings, Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings, but this is Indian Chicken Wings.

The Common notion about Indian food is - it's spicy! But, it's not that spicy that you'd need water to mellow it down.

It's a sort of spicy which when hits your mouth, makes your taste buds dance in joy. In fact, I know you love Spicy.

Recipes like Chicken Tikka Masala or Indian Butter chicken or Chicken Korma or Murg Saagwala served with homemade Naan Bread is something that you'd fall in love with every time you have it.

I have a special connection with Indian food.

Growing up in India, I have watched my Mom and my Gran cook delicious meals in the kitchen.

For me, Indian food is all about aroma. It's the beautiful fragrance that envelopes your home.

No Doubt, Indian recipes require a lot of masalas aka spices. And, it is these spices that build the flavor in our recipes. Every spice has a unique role to play.

Some Spices which you absolutely cannot miss are Garam Masala and Chaat Masala.

Garam Masala is like the heart of Indian cooking. As a child, I saw my mom making Garam Masala at home. She would ask my dad to get all the whole spices like black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, white pepper, star anise, and nutmeg. Then she would use a mortar pestle to ground them into a fine powder. When garam masala hits the recipe, the flavor and fragrance know no boundaries.

Chaat Masala is a recent spice mix that wasn't there until the early 2000s. What I love about chaat Masala is how it adds that "chatpata" taste to our recipe. I just googled - Chatpata means Piquant in English. So, basically what I am trying to say is - Chaat Masala has that sharp tangy taste that hits the right spots. Basically, it is made out of dry mango powder, cumin, chili powder, mint leaves, dry ginger, asafoetida, and black pepper. Looking at the ingredients, I guess you can imagine how awesome it would taste.

🥘 Ingredients

This Tandoori Chicken Wings is an Indian Recipe, so you will need a lot of Indian spices. You can find all of these in an Indian Grocery store.

To "Marinate" the Chicken Wings

FYI: Marination means coating chicken wings with spices.

• Yogurt
• Turmeric
• Paprika
• Garam Masala
• Chaat Masala
• Coriander Powder (or Curry Powder)
• Salt & Pepper
• Chopped Garlic
• Chopped Ginger
• Besan (Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour)
• Lime Juice
• Kasuri Methi or Fenugrek Leves

See the recipe card for quantities. Also, check out the video for a visual 🎥

👩🏻‍🍳 Instructions

This Tandoori Chicken Wings recipe is so easy.

• First, just coat the Chicken with these spices and refrigerate it covered for 1 hour or overnight.
• Next, either bake it in the oven at 400F or 230C for 25-30 minutes

OR

• Air Fry, it for 20 minutes, at 180C at 350F flipping in between.

• After these are done serve this with a quick homemade Cilantro Chutney (recipe in the card below)

Why Not Make Tandoori Chicken Wings on Stovetop?

I prefer making Indian Tandoori Chicken wings in either my oven or my Air fryer. I avoid frying them up on the stovetop.

• This is because when you fry your chicken on the stovetop, the oil splatters all over the place and it becomes too messy. But, when you do it in an oven or in an Air fryer all of these happen in a closed space and therefore there is nothing to worry about.
• Another reason to avoid Frying your Chicken wings on the stovetop is when your chicken hits the hot oil it leaves most of the spices in the oil. This doesn't happen in an oven or an Air fryer. As a result, your chicken wings are crispy on the outside and juicy and flavorful on the inside.
• One of the major reasons to avoid Stovetop is Oil. If you go about frying your Chicken Wings on Stovetop it would require so much oil. But, when you bake them in an oven or cook them in Air Fryer, you make them with Zero Oil. It's so healthy and we know how delicious it is.

Tandoori Chicken Wings in oven

Tandoori Chicken Wings can easily be prepared in an oven. Just like these Baked Chicken Wings - Honey Garlic Chicken Wings,

• Just preheat your oven to 230C or 400F
• Prepare a baking sheet with Parchment Paper.
• Bake your chicken wings for 25-30 minutes.

Your Chicken wings are already coated with a lot of spices. And then there is Gram Flour or Besan to add that crispy touch. Moreover, there is Yogurt to add that tangy element to your Chicken Wings.

When these Chicken Wings hit the hot oven they crisp up evenly. And, after 30-minutes of waiting you are left with something that's unbelievably tasty.

Tandoori Chicken Wings in Air fryer

Tandoor Chicken Wings can also be prepared in your Air Fryer. In fact, to be honest with you, I love my Tandoori Chicken in Air Fryer more than Oven-baked ones. Also, try my other Air fryer wings such as Cajun Chicken Wings,  Southern Fried Chicken with Buttermilk, Cauliflower Wings with Panko Parmesan.

Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Wings are so healthy because it contains Zero Oil and also for that smoky taste.

• If your Air Fryer needs to be Preheated you can Preheat it at 180C or 350F
• Now just place your Chicken Wings in your Air fryer.
• Cook for 20-25 minutes tossing midway.

🥗 Serving Suggestions

You can Serve Tandoori Chicken with so many things:

• Plain Yogurt - One of the most popular way to enjoy Chicken Wings
• Cilantro Lime Dip - Popularly Known as Dhaniya Chutney this Cilantro Lime Dip is so amazing and widely popular in India.
• Tomato Ketchup - Ketchup goes with everything. So, if you can't find your hands on any of the above, then serve with tomato ketchup.

📖 Other Chicken Recipes

• Lemon Pepper Wings (with homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning)
• General Tso's Chicken Recipe
• Crispy Baked Thai Chicken Wings
• Sticky and Spicy Korean Chicken Wings
• Extra Crispy Cajun Dry Rub Chicken Wings in Air Fryer
• Honey Garlic Chicken Wings (BAKED)
• Baked Buffalo Wings
• Sriracha Wings (BAKED) Recipe

If you are making this recipe, then please leave a rating below. Also, take a snap and share it on Instagram with #recipemagik. Tag me @recipemagik so that we can see how it turned out.