Tandoori chicken wings make for a great appetizer for parties or the perfect snack to binge on during family game nights. This recipe for tandoori style chicken wings shows you how to make tandoori spiced chicken wings in the oven or in the air fryer.
I know tandoori recipes are traditionally made in a tandoor, but since most of us don’t have easy access to a clay oven at home, I have shared the recipe to make tandoori chicken wings in the oven and the air fryer.
But trust me, even without the clay oven.. these chicken wings, marinated in the bold and delightful flavors of tandoori masala, and baked in the oven or air fried even, make for the perfect appetizer for parties or even as a snack to binge on family game night.
And of-course you can also grill these on an outdoor grill, but since I am using small chicken wing pieces (wingettes and drumettes) for this recipe (see notes below), it is easier to do this in the oven or air fryer. You can however go ahead and grill these chicken wings on an outdoor grill if you want to.
My go-to method is the oven for bigger batches for parties or game nights etc, but air fryer is super convenient and quick if you need to make only a few wing pieces.
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Ingredients You Need
Ingredient notes
Full chicken wings are usually cut in 3 pieces – flats (also known as wingettes), drums (also known as drumettes), and wing-tips (which are discarded).
The chicken wing pieces I have used for this recipe are wingettes and drumettes (as you can see above). So if you go by the exact quantity of the recipe card, that would be 33 wingettes and drumettes (about half and half of each), and not 33 full chicken wings.
Wingettes and drumettes can usually be bought pre-cut, which is what I have used – the pre-cut wings. But you can also cut the chicken wing at home into wingettes and drumettes, and discard the wing tips.
How to Make Tandoori Chicken Wings
Prepping the chicken wings
- Properly wash and rinse the chicken wing pieces under water.
- Pat dry any excess moisture from the wing pieces to ensure there is no additional liquid when marinade is applied.
Marinating chicken wings in tandoori masala
- In a large bowl, add the ingredients required to make the marinade – yogurt, ginger garlic paste, kashmiri chilli powder, tandoori masala powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chaat masala powder, kasoori methi powder, salt, corn flour, oil, and lemon juice.
- Mix them all together to form a smooth paste-like marinade. You can also mix in red food coloring, but this is optional, and I usually skip it.
- Add the chicken wing pieces to this, and coat them well with this marinade.
- Then cover the bowl and put the chicken in the fridge, and let it marinate in this spice mix for about 4-6 hours. If you are in a rush, 1-2 hours of marination will suffice, but ideally it’s best to plan ahead, and let the chicken properly marinate in and absorb all the spices.
- Once the chicken has marinated well in the tandoori spice mix, take it out of the fridge and let it thaw on the counter for 20-30 minutes before cooking it.
Tandoori chicken wings in oven
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a baking tray with oven safe liner (to catch all the drippings), place an oven rack on it, grease the rack, and line up the chicken wing pieces on it.
- Bake tandoori chicken wings for 35-40 minutes at 400 F, ensuring to flip the pieces at the halfway mark at 20 minutes.
Tandoori chicken wings in air fryer
- Preheat air fryer at 400 F for 3 minutes.
- Line the air fryer basket and grease the liner, and then place the chicken wing pieces on the greased liner in the basket.
- Air fry tandoori chicken wings for 20 minutes at 400 F, ensuring to flip the pieces at the halfway mark at 10 minutes.
- Note: Air frying temperature and time can vary a little based on the air fryer and model you are using.
Serving Suggestion
I personally love to eat these tandoori spiced chicken wings as is, usually pairing it with a drink. But you can pair these chicken wings with dips like schezwan chutney or even ranch, based on what you prefer.
Related recipes to try..
⭐️ Whole Chicken Tandoori Recipe
⭐️ Indian Spiced Chicken Wings
⭐️ Restaurant Style Chicken Lollipop
⭐️ Mumbai Style Prawns Koliwada
⭐️ Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️
📖 RECIPE
Tandoori Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Baking Liner
Ingredients
Chicken wings
- 33 chicken wing pieces (weighing ~3.5 pounds) *see notes
For tandoori chicken wings marinade
- ½ cup yogurt thick, full fat
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 3 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp tandoori masala powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala powder
- 2 tbsp kasoori methi
- 2 tsp salt
- 1½ tbsp corn flour
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp red food color optional
Instructions
Prepping the chicken wings
- Properly wash and rinse the chicken wing pieces under water.
- Pat dry any excess moisture from the wing pieces to ensure there is no additional liquid when marinade is applied.
Marinating chicken wings in tandoori masala
- In a large bowl, add the ingredients required to make the marinade – yogurt, ginger garlic paste, kashmiri chilli powder, tandoori masala powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chaat masala powder, kasoori methi powder, salt, corn flour, oil, and lemon juice.
- Mix them all together to form a smooth paste-like marinade. You can also mix in red food coloring, but this is optional, and I usually skip it.
- Add the chicken wing pieces to this, and coat them well with this marinade.
- Then cover the bowl and put the chicken in the fridge, and let it marinate in this spice mix for about 4-6 hours. If you are in a rush, 1-2 hours of marination will suffice, but ideally it's best to plan ahead, and let the chicken properly marinate in and absorb all the spices.
- Once the chicken has marinated well in the tandoori spice mix, take it out of the fridge and let it thaw on the counter for 20-30 minutes before cooking it.
Tandoori chicken wings in oven
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a baking tray with oven safe liner (to catch all the drippings), place an oven rack on it, grease the rack, and line up the chicken wing pieces on it.
- Bake tandoori chicken wings for 35-40 minutes at 400 F, ensuring to flip the pieces at the halfway mark at 20 minutes.
Tandoori chicken wings in air fryer
- Preheat air fryer at 400 F for 3 minutes.
- Line the air fryer basket and grease the liner, and then place the chicken wing pieces on the greased liner in the basket.
- Air fry tandoori chicken wings for 20 minutes at 400 F, ensuring to flip the pieces at the halfway mark at 10 minutes.
- Note: Air frying temperature and time can vary a little based on the air fryer and model you are using.
Notes
- Full chicken wings are usually cut in 3 pieces – flats (also known as wingettes), drums (also known as drumettes), and wing-tips (which are discarded). The 33 pieces I have used for this recipe are wingettes and drumettes (approximately half & half of each), and not 33 full chicken wings. Wingettes and drumettes can usually be bought pre-cut, which is what I have used – the pre-cut wings. But you can also cut the chicken wing at home into wingettes and drumettes, and discard the wing tips.
Nutrition
Video Recipe
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