Tandoori Chicken in the Air Fryer, Step by Step

This is the recipe from the origin story. The one with the thirteen-ingredient marinade. The one where I forgot the corn flour existed and had to negotiate quantities with the internet using one yogurt-free knuckle.

It felt wrong to write it out as a plain wall of text, because a wall of text is exactly what caused all the trouble. So here it is the way the app serves it: one step at a time. Tap through them. The timers really run, in real minutes, exactly as they would at the stove. This is literally what cooking from Cooking Steps feels like.

Prefer it written out?

Fine, here is the flat version too. For printing, screenshotting, or reading in bed.

Ingredients

• 2 lb chicken drumsticks
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (first marinade)
• 1 tsp salt (first marinade)
• 8 tbsp yogurt
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1½ tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tbsp tandoori masala
• ½ tbsp garam masala
• ½ tbsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp chaat masala
• ½ tsp salt (second marinade)
• 1 pinch nutmeg powder
• 1 tbsp kasoori methi
• ½ tbsp corn flour
• 1½ tbsp oil

Method

1. Prep the chicken. Clean the drumsticks, discard the fat and pat dry. Make small gashes so the marinade soaks in.
2. First marinade. Coat the drumsticks with the lemon juice and salt. Soak 15 to 20 minutes, then strain off the excess liquid.
3. Make the tandoori marinade. Whisk the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli powder, tandoori masala, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, chaat masala, salt, a pinch of nutmeg, kasoori methi, corn flour and oil into a smooth paste. Yes, all thirteen. Yes, including the corn flour.
4. Second marinade. Coat the drumsticks with the marinade, filling the gashes. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 to 6 hours, ideally 12 to 24.
5. Air fry. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and grease the basket. Air fry 18 to 20 minutes, flipping once halfway, until charred at the edges and 165°F inside.
6. Rest and serve. Rest a couple of minutes so it stays crisp outside and juicy inside. Serve with sliced onion, lemon and mint chutney.

In the app this recipe scales its servings, converts its units, adds its ingredients to your shopping list, and rings you when the air fryer is done. The blog version just sits here looking delicious. Recipe adapted from theloveofspice.com.