Tandoori Chicken in a Home Oven (Real Crust, No Tandoor Needed)

Ingredients

First marinade

1.2 kg kg chicken legs (bone-in, skin removed)
2 tbsp tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp tsp fine salt
1 tbsp tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp tsp Kashmiri chili powder

Yogurt marinade

300 g g full-fat Greek or hung yogurt (thick)
2 tbsp tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
1½ tsp tsp garam masala
1 tsp tsp ground cumin
1 tsp tsp ground coriander
½ tsp tsp turmeric
1 tsp tsp kasuri methi (crushed)
1 tbsp tbsp tomato paste (for colour)
2 tbsp tbsp mustard oil or neutral oil
½ tsp tsp black pepper (freshly ground)

For finishing & serving

2 tbsp tbsp melted ghee (for basting)
1 lemon (quartered)
1 small red onion (thin rings)
fresh coriander (chopped)
mint yogurt or chutney (optional)

Instructions

Step-by-step method

Score the chicken.

Pat legs dry. Cut 3–4 deep diagonal slashes into each piece, right down to the bone.

First marinade (30 min). Rub the chicken with lemon juice, salt, ginger-garlic paste, and 1 tsp Kashmiri chili. Massage into the slashes. Cover and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Second marinade (8–24 h). Whisk the thick yogurt with all remaining spices, tomato paste, oil, and pepper. Coat every piece, working the marinade into every slash. Refrigerate covered — minimum 8 hours, ideally overnight.

Bring to room temp. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Cold chicken from the fridge hits the oven and cooks unevenly.

Preheat and set up. Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C convection if you have it. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, top with a wire rack.

Arrange the chicken. Lift each piece straight out of the marinade — don't wipe off the excess, that's the crust. Space them on the wire rack so no piece touches another.

Roast (20 min). Cook 20 minutes at 425°F. Halfway through, rotate the tray front-to-back for even browning. The chicken will start looking dry and matte — that's normal.

Baste and broil (6–8 min). Switch the oven to broil (high). Brush each piece with melted ghee, then slide the rack up so chicken sits 4 inches below the element. Broil 3–4 minutes per side until the edges char and the crust cracks.

Check the temperature. Internal temp should read 175°F / 79°C at the thickest point of the thigh (bone-in thighs are safe past 165°F and stay juicy up to 180°F).

Rest and squeeze. Rest 5 minutes on a plate — no foil (foil traps steam and softens the crust). Squeeze fresh lemon over the top, scatter onion rings and coriander, serve immediately with mint yogurt.