Tandoori Chicken Wings

Name: Tandoori Chicken Wings Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken wings (1 kg, halved at joints, wingtips discarded); 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice; 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder; 1 teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 1 tablespoon mustard oil (or any other cooking oil); 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder; 2 tablespoon thick yogurt (curd, dahi) (or Greek yogurt); 2 tablespoons tandoori masala powder; 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi; ghee or butter (for basting)

By Neha Mathur

5 from 1 vote

on Nov 06, 2024, Updated Jan 15, 2025

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These Tandoori Wings are so easy to make and you only need 15 minutes of active working time. Make them in an air fryer or an oven.

Here are some more chicken appetizer recipes that you may like – Cajun Chicken Wings, Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings, Chicken Tikka, and Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders.

Tandoori chicken wings served on a plate.

Over the years, I have perfected my Tandoori Marinade recipe. I use it to marinate fish, chicken, paneer, mushrooms etc.

For one of my Diwali parties last week, I thought to use the same marinade to make tandoori chicken wings. they turned out very good, and everyone at the party was raving about them. Sharing the recipe with you all to enjoy!

About Tandoori Chicken Wings

Tandoori Wings is an Indian style appetizer where chicken wings are marinated in a spicy yogurt-based marinade and then air-fried or roasted in an oven until they are nicely cooked.

They are similar to the classic tandoori choice, just that in place of whole chicken pieces, only chicken wings are used.

Tandoori chicken wings are very easy to make, and the recipe uses a few simple ingredients, which are mostly available in any Indian Kitchen. You only need 15 minutes of active working time for the preparation.

Once the chicken wings are marinated, you can cook them in an oven or an air fryer as per your convenience. These wings also cook well over a gas grill or over a charcoal fire. Infact cooking them in a gas grill or charcoal fire gives them a nice smoky flavor.

Serve these tandoori-style wings as an appetizer with green chutney, sliced onions, and lime wedges for house parties, potlucks, or festive dinners. Sometime, I like to eat only protein for dinner. On such days, I make these tandoori wings along with a nice salad.

I love trying new Indian Appetizer Recipes and serving them for my house parties. Do check them out.

Ingredients

Chicken Wings

You can use fresh or frozen wings. If using frozen wings, then bring them out of the freezer 3-4 hours in advance and thaw them completely. Once thawed, rinse them with water and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Then use them in this tandoori wing recipe.

You can use full wings or cut them into drum and wingettes (flats). I personally like to cut them into smaller pieces.

For The First Marination

You will need ginger garlic paste, freshly squeezed lime juice, Kashmiri red chili powder, baking soda, and salt to marinate the wings. This first marination makes them tender and juicy.

For The Second Marination

The second marination is done to give a nice tandoori flavor to the wings. To make it, you will need mustard oil, Kashmiri red chili powder, thick yogurt (curd, dahi), tandoori masala powder, and kasuri methi.

Mustard oil is highly recommended for the authentic tandoori taste but if it’s not available easily, then use any cooking oil.

Make tandoori masala powder at home, or use a store-bought one.

Plain yogurt must be hung for some time so that it becomes thick. I have written how to make thick yogurt from plain yogurt in the post below. Do read it.

It is important that yogurt is thick otherwise the marination will not stick to the chicken wings and then the tandoori wings will not taste very good. So make sure to use thick yogurt. If you are short on time, then use Greek yogurt in place of plain yogurt. Greek yogurt is much thicker than plain yogurt so you don’t have to drip it for a longer time.

You will also need butter or ghee to brush over the wings to cook them nicely.

I sometimes add a little garam masala powder and black pepper powder to my marinade when I want to give it an extra spicy kick. So if you want your tandoori wings to be spicier, then add ½ teaspoon of these two spice powders.

Sometimes, the tandoori wings that are sold in restaurants are very red in color. It is because restaurants add red food color to the marinade making the tandoori wings redish. I personally refrain from using any artificial color in my cooking as far as possible, but if you like reddish wings, then add a few drops of edible red color to the marinade.

How To Make Tandoori Wings

Do The First Marination

Rinse 2 lb chicken wings (halved at joints, wingtips discarded) and dry them using paper towels.

Add the following ingredients to a bowl and mix well.

2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Ginger garlic paste, chili powder, lime juice, salt and baking soda added to a bowl.

Add the wings to the bowl.

Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Do The Second Marination

Add the following ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

1 tablespoon mustard oil
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
2 tablespoon thick yogurt
2 tablespoon tandoori masala
1 tablespoon Kasuri methi

Mustard oil, chili powder, yogurt, tandoori masala and kasuri methi added to the bowl.

Cook The Tandoori Wings

In An Air Fryer

Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes.

Remove the wings from the marinade and place them in the basket of the airfryer in a single layer.

Note – Air fry in batches if the basket is small.

Brush them generously with ghee or butter to help them crisp up.

Chicken wings placed in the air fryer basket.

Now place the basket in the air fryer and air fry for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, pull out the basket and flip the wings using a pair of tongs. Brush them again with ghee or butter.

Now cook for another 5-10 minutes or until they are crispy and cooked through.

Tandoori wings are ready. Transfer them to the serving plate and serve hot with green chutney, onion laccha and lime wedges.

In An Oven

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and keep a wire rack on top of it.

Arrange the marinated wings on the wire rack in a single layer. Brush them with ghee or butter, and keep the tray in the middle rack of the oven.

Note – Keeping the wings on a wire rack is important to make crispy wings as the water released while grilling will drip down and not make the wings soggy.

Bake for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, flip the wings over and brush them again with ghee or butter. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until they are crispy and cooked through.

Serve hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to cut a whole chicken wing into drummettes and wingettes?

Keep a whole chicken wing on the cutting board. A whole chicken wing consists of three main sections: the drumette, the wingette (the midsection or flat), and the wing tip.

Locate the joint between the drumette and the wingette. The two sections meet at a natural bend in the wing.

Using a sharp knife, cut through this joint to separate the drumette from the wingette. Apply some pressure if needed.

Once you’ve separated the drumette from the wingette, chop off the wing tip and discard it and use drummettes and wingettes in your chicken wing recipes.

How to make thick yogurt using regular yogurt?

Keep a mesh strainer over a bowl.
Take a cheesecloth or muslin cloth and spread it over the strainer, making sure that enough cloth is hanging from the edges.
Pour the yogurt into the lined strainer.
Fold the ends of the cloth gently over the yogurt.
Keep the bowl with the strainer in the refrigerator and allow the yogurt to strain for 4-6 hours or overnight for an even thicker consistency.
The liquid (whey) from the yogurt will drip and collect in the bowl and you will get thick yogurt in the cloth.
Once the yogurt is thickened, remove the strainer from the bowl and unwrap the cloth.
Transfer the hung yogurt to a clean glass container and refrigerate for up to a week.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve these tandoori wings with my green chutney, onion slices, and lime wedges. For a change, I served these with Yogurt Mint Dip and Feta Cream Cheese Dip at my last house party and everyone loved that combo as well.

Storage Suggestions

Leftover tandoori wings can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. You can reheat them in an air fryer or an oven.

To reheat in an air fryer, keep the refrigerated wings in the basket and reheat at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.

To reheat them in an oven, line a baking sheet with foil and arrange the leftover tandoori wings over it. Keep the baking sheet in the oven and reheat at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.in the refrigerator.