Empire Restaurant in Bangalore is basically the Chipotle of Tamil Nadu, India. Cheap, delicious food that may or may not have you crying on the toilet later. Foodie adventures in a developing country- you just never know what you might find! But if you are traveling through southern India, Tandoori Chicken Kabobs are an easy, delightful street food find. Here in a United States kitchen, they are harder to find than Kamala Harris at an AA meeting.
I mean, who in the U.S. has a Tandoori oven in their home? But here in the good ‘ol US of A, every home cook seems to own an air fryer these days.
It’s actually so much easier than you may think to create authentic chicken kabobs like you might find from Empire Restaurant in Bangalore but without the mess of deep frying and all those extra calories that come from deep frying.
In Bangalore, India, chicken kabobs are the streetside snack of choice. You can find them at any street-side food cart, piping hot and dripping with flavor.
Believe it or not, creating these spicy kabobs at home in your air fryer is so much easier than you would think. These zesty Air Fryer kabobs taste amazing in my Curried Chicken Salad, too. I’ve been making this salad for about 15 years now, and it’s a family favorite. In the summertime, I literally make this almost every week.
If it’s summer, you can usually find me out and about in Big Bear Lake, trekking the most scenic hiking trails either with my clients as Big Bear Lake’s most popular hiking guide or perhaps on my days off with my adventure do
g. If I do manage to get any kind of day off in July, I love to try to get away for a long hike with my pup either to Geronimo, the highest ski run in Big Bear Lake. Or, if I’m fortunate, sometimes we’ll get out of town and go for a 22-mile round-trip hike up San Gorgonio.
When my exhausted pup and I come back from a 22-mile day hike, you better believe we’re doing something easy for dinner. This simple tandoori chicken dinner is so easy to make. Marinate the chicken the night before and basically just toss it in the air fryer for 20 minutes when you get back home, starving and needing a delicious Anglo Indian meal. Trust me, you will never go back to Costco rotisserie chicken after you have tried this tangy and spicy tandoori chicken.
When you think Tandoori Chicken, okay, yes, you may think of a Tandoori oven, but you can act
ually create these Tandoori Chicken Kabobs in the air fryer! And I swear they turn out zesty, spicy and grilled to perfection each and every time.
Tandoori Chicken Kabobs in the Air Fryer
1 package chicken thighs, remove the bone, skin on, slice each into thirds
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 teaspoons of water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon tandoori seasoning
1 teaspoon Greek yogurt
1 lime
Fresh mint to garnish
In a saucepan, add the sesame oil with the garlic and ginger. Heat the sesame oil and scoop the curry powder on top of the garlic and ginger so it does not splatter. Store just a bit as the garlic paste cooks, adding a quarter cup of water as it dries down. Cook this masala down for just five minutes until the spices are no longer raw and the garlic is cooked. Set aside for five minutes.
After five minutes, mix in the soy sauce. Squeeze in lime juice, the tandoori seasoning and the yogurt. Add this marinade to your chicken thighs. Let this marinate at least two hours to overnight.
When you are ready to fry the Tandoori Chicken Kabobs, add them to your air fryer in a single layer at 400°F for 25 minutes. Check them for doneness. Depending on the size, they could need another 5-7 minutes.
When ready to serve, squeeze some lime over the top of your Tandoori Chicken Kabobs. Sprinkle on fresh mint. These are great served with my Mint Chutney.
Or try them with the aforementioned Curried Chicken Salad.
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Kabobs FAQ
Can you make authentic Tandoori Chicken Kabobs without a traditional tandoor oven?
Absolutely! While traditional South Indian street food spots like Bangalore’s famous Empire Restaurant rely on glowing clay tandoor ovens, you can get that exact same zesty, crispy, grilled-to-perfection texture right in your kitchen using a standard home air fryer. It delivers all the smoky, deep flavor of authentic streetside snacks without the grease, heavy cleanup, or extra calories of deep frying.
What cut of meat is best for making juicy Tandoori Chicken Kabobs?
For the ultimate juicy bite, always reach for chicken thighs with the bone removed but the skin left on, slicing each thigh into thirds. Keeping the skin intact allows the fat to render beautifully under the air fryer elements, self-basting the meat so it stays tender, tangy, and rich rather than drying out like plain chicken breasts.
How long should you marinate the chicken for maximum flavor?
To let those spices truly sink in, aim for a minimum marinade time of two hours. However, if you are planning a busy day out on the trail, prepping the chicken and letting it soak in the spiced yogurt, lime juice, and ginger-garlic masala mixture overnight in the fridge is the ultimate flavor move. It tenderizes the meat perfectly and makes dinner a total breeze.
What is the correct temperature and time for cooking chicken kabobs in an air fryer?
Set your air fryer to 400°F and arrange the marinated chicken pieces in a flat, single layer so the hot air circulates evenly. Fry them for 25 minutes, then check for doneness. Depending on the exact size and thickness of your cuts, they might need an extra 5 to 7 minutes to hit that perfect, slightly charred street-food finish.
How should Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Kabobs be served?
Serve them roaring hot with a bright, fresh squeeze of lime juice across the top and a handful of chopped fresh mint leaves for garnish. They are phenomenal when dipped into a homemade zesty Mint Chutney, or you can chop them up to add a bold, spicy twist to a classic summer Curried Chicken Salad.
Comments
These do sound easy to make, a lot easier than I thought. Fantastic recipe!
Author
The Tandoori seasoning is the key. Our family literally has these for dinner at least once a week, especially in the summertime.
Those sound delicious!