Easy Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken

Instant pot tandoori chicken: drumsticks marinated in a homemade tandoori masala, cooked under pressure, and finished under the oven broiler. Makes ultra-tender and moist chicken with the perfect crust. This is a very easy, restaurant-quality recipe that is sure to impress! Serve with cilantro chutney for maximum impact!

If you like dry chicken recipes, do try this chicken bhuna masala and this chicken malai tikka.

Fat, juicy chicken drumsticks with the rich fragrance and color of Indian spices. Fall-off-the-bone, tender meat. And a deep smoky flavor to die for. Tandoori chicken is the Indian answer to the best barbecued chicken, and this instant pot recipe makes it all SO easy, it's literally insane!

In most restaurants, tandoori chicken is made in a tandoor or clay oven where food is cooked in the residual heat of impossibly high temps. It imparts a very special taste to food, especially meats and breads. Since nobody has access to a tandoor in modern homes, it is a challenge to recreate the same authenticity and deliciousness in a home kitchen.

However, it is possible to come close if you know how. The right ingredients and techniques will allow you to reach very similar results, and if it's done with the minimum of fuss and labor, it's a clear winner of a recipe. This instant pot tandoori chicken recipe (with a little help from your trusty oven) is just that winner!

Why this recipe works

• The chicken is very tender and juicy, not dry or bland at all. Yogurt is a tenderizer and the long marination ensures that the chicken remains moist.

• The incredible taste! It hits you the moment you bite into a piece. It's the medley of spices as well as the mustard oil that is at work here.

• It is an easy if not quick recipe. There's no grunt work involved here...just whip up the marinade in minutes, toss the drumsticks in it, and let your appliances take over and do the work! It would also qualify as a quick recipe if not for the long marination in the fridge. After all, it's just 10 minutes of pressure cooking and a 5-minute trip to the oven we're talking about.

• It's perfect for entertaining. Cook the chicken in the instant pot in advance, and when your guests arrive, stick a tray under the oven broiler for 5 minutes. Hot, fresh and crisp chicken drumsticks are ready to be served in, literally, minutes!

• It is made with wholly natural ingredients and spices. There are no artificial ingredients sneaked in. No, not even red food color, which is present in your typical tandoori chicken take-out. What makes the chicken in my recipe such a pleasing color is the combination of spices - red chilli, paprika, Kashmiri chilli and turmeric to be precise.

• It is a healthy alternative to fried chicken. It has the fried taste without being fried. Need I say more?

🥘Ingredients

Note: See recipe card further down for exact quantities.

🔪Instructions

How to make instant pot tandoori chicken

1. Prep the chicken

• Take off the skins from the chicken legs and make 2 or 3 deep gashes with the help of a sharp knife. This is so the marinade makes its way deep into the meat and works its magic.

2. Make the marinade

• Whisk together the yogurt, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, and sea salt in a deep bowl.
• Measure out all the ground spices. Heat the mustard oil in a small frypan and add the spices. Fry the spices in oil for a few seconds only and take the frypan off the heat immediately. Be careful that the spices don't burn.
• When the spice mixture cools down completely, add it to the yogurt and whisk. Your marinade is ready.

3. Add the chicken to the marinade

• Put the chicken pieces in the marinade and make sure it is well coated with it.
• Cover the bowl with cling foil and put it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.

4. Pressure cook the marinated chicken in the instant pot

• Fill the steel insert with 1 cup water and lower a trivet in it.
• Stack the chicken legs on the trivet and close the lid.
• Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes and wait for 10 minutes before doing a pressure release.
• Remove the lid but don't remove the chicken yet.

5. Smoke the chicken (optional)

• Heat a small piece of charcoal to red hot and keep it in a small pinch bowl or aluminum foil shaped into a bowl.
• Keep this bowl in the middle of the chicken and drizzle half a teaspoon ghee or oil on it.
• Trap the smoke by immediately covering the pot with the lid.
• Wait 8-10 minutes before removing the lid.

6. Broil the chicken in the oven

• Set your oven to 'broil' on high.
• Spray a baking tray with some oil.
• Take out the chicken legs from the instant pot and arrange them on the baking tray.
• Stick the tray under the broiler for 4-5 minutes and allow the chicken to crisp up and acquire a slight char.
• Remove the tray and transfer the chicken to a platter.
• Sprinkle the chaat masala over the chicken if using and serve hot with the lemon wedges, onion rings and green chutney.

💭Top tips

• I have used only drumsticks in this recipe. You can use whole chicken legs (thigh + drumsticks) too. These are often used to make tandoori chicken.
• Pat dry the chicken after washing it so that it doesn't add any moisture to the marinade.
• Do remove the chicken skins and make deep gashes in the meat before marinating it. Indian chicken recipes are more often than not made with skinless meat, and this one's no exception. Besides, doing these two things will help the marinade penetrate into the meat, making it more flavorful.
• Use thick yogurt only for the marinade. I always use Greek yogurt to save myself the hassle of having to drain regular yogurt of all the liquid.
• Be patient with the marination. A minimum of 4 hours is required, and if you can do an overnight marination, that's perfect. I usually plan ahead and marinate the chicken the evening before I want to serve it, so it all comes together beautifully, and I don't feel I've put in much effort in the end!

Sides for tandoori chicken

Wondering what to serve with tandoori chicken? Don't worry, I've got you covered. Try these side dishes that go perfectly with your hero.

• Lemon rice
• Smashed potatoes
• Cauliflower steaks
• Hariyali paneer tikka
• Coriander chutney

Want still more? Check out this post with 24 side dishes to serve with tandoori chicken. You'll be spoiled for choice!

More Indian chicken recipes you might like

• Chicken malai tikka - soft, juicy kebabs on skewers that will melt in your mouth.
• Chicken frankie rolls - parathas layered with omelette and juicy spiced chicken and onions. 
• Chicken handi - bite-sized boneless chicken breasts in a thick and flavorful curry.
• Spinach chicken - bite-sized boneless chicken breasts and spinach leaves simmered in a sauce made creamy with ground cashews.
• Almond chicken korma - tender cuts of bone-in chicken cooked in a rich and sumptuous sauce made with fried onions, yogurt, whole spices and ground almonds. 

If you want more, check out the entire collection of chicken recipes on the blog.

📖 Recipe