Main dish

Slow Cooked Tandoori Chicken recipe

Name: Slow Cooked Tandoori Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 4 h 10 min
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs; 60g tandoori spice paste (I use Patak's); 150g full fat yoghurt; ½ clove of garlic; 25g fresh mint leaves (I use frozen); juice from half a small lemon; ¼ tsp garam masala; ½ tsp sugar; salt (to taste); chapatis; mixed salad leaves; mango chutney

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This slow cooked and grilled tandoori chicken can be served in all sorts of ways but it's especially good wrapped in chapatis with salad, raita and mango chutney.

Prep5m
Cook4h 10m
Total4h 15m

chicken indian slow-cooker

Slow cooked tandoori chicken served with chapatis, raita and mango chutney

I’m not sure I should call this “tandoori chicken” because there’s no yoghurt or clay oven involved. I put chicken thighs and tandoori paste into my slow cooker (well, Instant Pot) then finish the chicken under a grill. That’s it. The chicken can be eaten with rice, salad, naan, or wrapped up in a paratha or chapati.

This recipe is basically Slow Cooked Hoisin Chicken but with tandoori paste replacing hoisin sauce. You could use any Indian paste. I break up the chicken into chunky pieces rather than shredding it and although the chicken is fully cooked when it comes out of the slow cooker, I pop it under the grill to deepen the colour and get those delicious charred, crispy bits.

Notes

I love Patak’s Tandoori Paste and M&S chapatis. I find that Patak’s paste has plenty of seasoning so I don’t add any salt but other pastes may need some.

Recipe

Slow Cooked Tandoori Chicken

Prep5m
Cook4h 10m
Total4h 15m

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Tandoori chicken

500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
60g tandoori spice paste (I use Patak's)

Raita

150g full fat yoghurt
½ clove of garlic
25g fresh mint leaves (I use frozen)
juice from half a small lemon
¼ tsp garam masala
½ tsp sugar
salt (to taste)

To serve

chapatis
mixed salad leaves
mango chutney

Method

Tandoori chicken: Put 500g of skinless, boneless chicken thighs and 60g of tandoori paste into a slow cooker on the Low setting. Stir and set the timer for 4-6 hours.
Optional: Halfway through the cooking time, use a wooden spoon to break each chicken thigh into chunks and prop the lid slightly open if the chicken has released a lot of water.
Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Once the chicken has finished slow cooking, taste it and season if needed. Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking tray and spread it out evenly. Grill for around 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until the chicken has charred, with crispy bits here and there.
Raita: Add 2 tablespoons (from 150g) of full fat yoghurt into a food processor or blender along with ½ a clove of garlic, 25g of fresh mint leaves, the juice from ½ a small lemon, ½ teaspoon of garam masala, ½ teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth then stir in the remainder of the yoghurt. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Assemble: Divide the chicken between chapatis, adding mixed salad leaves, raita and mango chutney. Roll up and eat immediately. Any leftover chicken and raita will keep for up to 48 hours in the fridge.