You Don't Need A Special Oven For Mouthwatering Homemade Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori chicken is a masterpiece of culinary effort. Prepared with a broad selection of meticulously layered spices, marinated in yogurt, and roasted to perfection, the most successful versions of this dish are a reflection of care, quality ingredients, and craft. For some at home though, given that the cooking vessel is built right into the name, it may feel impossible to recreate if a tandoor oven isn't accessible. Fortunately, a couple of reliable experts — who are not affiliated with each other — have informed us that there are other ways to make mouthwatering tandoori chicken without having your own tandoori oven.

Varun Inamdar,"The Bombay Chef," is a restaurateur and chocolatier (who also happens to hold the Guinness World Record for the Largest Mud Pie at 3,000 pounds). Chintan Pandya is a Mumbai-born chef and partner at New York City restaurants Dhamaka and Adda, which are part of the collective Unapologetic Foods. Additionally, he has earned a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: New York State. In separate interviews with Daily Meal, these two notable chefs kindly shared their individual suggestions for tandoori-loving home cooks who want to replicate this famous dish by working with what they've got. Each expert even shared multiple solutions, including using a grill or a convection oven, so there's a good chance you've got at least one of these available to you.

The major hurdle here is the ability to mimic the heat that a tandoor generates. Historically, these ovens have relied on charcoal or wood for fuel, while modern iterations are available using gas or electric. Regardless of the source, though, one of the most critical elements of this contraption is its ability to reach and sustain super high temperatures — anywhere from 500 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit all the way upwards of 800 degrees Fahrenheit at times. This means a tandoor cooks meats quickly and seals in those signature juices, while creating a super satisfying char and adding smoky flavor.

Varun Inamdar explains that there's no true replacement for a tandoor, but there are some ways to produce similar results — starting with a classic convection oven. While most home ovens top out at around 550 degrees Fahrenheit, he notes that their range "closely replicates the heat of a tandoor." He also shared that an outdoor grill "brings in the smoky elements" that are so indicative of tandoori chicken.

Chintan Pandya shared similar advice, saying the "best option would be to use an outdoor grill with a cooling rack for baking." He added that this method "uses the same principle of cooking," as a tandoor oven. But if a grill is not available, a convection oven is Pandya's go-to as well. (If you're just getting to know your oven, this type is known for circulating air evenly.)

The tandoori oven does more than cook, though; it also creates a particular character with char and smoke. Varun Inamdar shared some hacks that can help you get close to this tandoori chicken flavor profile, too, particularly in the absence of an outdoor grill that would most naturally allow you to develop these qualities.

"There are other ways to impart smokiness to your homemade tandoor chicken," he explained. Inamdar also suggested yet another method — the stove top. "[A] pan...can be [an] absolutely fuss-free substitution with a couple of tricks — like smoking it up with some liquid smoke or burning embers, locking in the flavor by subjection under cover!" In a YouTube video on his channel, Get Curried, Inamdar demonstrates a technique in which he lights a piece of charcoal on an open flame and — once hot — places it in a small aluminum cup alongside the cooked chicken, douses it with oil to release that all-important smoke, and covers it to trap the smoke inside for a few minutes. He says the results are "exactly like the tandoori chicken baked in a tandoor."

Once you have your method sorted out thanks to these professional suggestions, you can confidently experiment with fun spins on the classic like a tandoori style chicken lollipop recipe, or even a super simplified take on tandoori chicken with 3 ingredients using a spice blend. All that's left to do after that is enjoy your mouthwatering homemade masterpiece.