Air fryer Whole Tandoori Chicken 

This air fryer Tandoori Whole Chicken is a true gastronomical treat. It is cooked easily in the air fryer and comes out so moist and juicy inside while being crispy outside. Perfect for Thanksgiving.

This Air fryer Full Tandoori Chicken is my rotisserie style chicken. It is a real centrepiece that will wow your family and friends.

The whole chicken is marinated in a flavorful tandoori marinade for a few hours for the flavours to soak in. It is then finished to perfection in the air fryer. You can also try this simpler whole chicken in air fryer recipe.

You may also like: air fryer tandoori chicken drumsticks, air fryer chicken tikka, Air fryer Chicken Wings, KFC style chicken drumsticks.

What is Tandoori Chicken?

Tandoori Chicken is a traditional Indian method of cooking chicken on high heat in a clay oven or tandoor. 

The marinated chicken gets super crispy outside while staying moist and succulent inside.

Tandoori marinade is a signature marinade using yogurt and spices to marinate the chicken in.

Ingredients

Whole chicken: Choose small or big depending upon the size of your air fryer and the number of people you are cooking for.

Yogurt: I used thick Greek yogurt in which spices are added.

Spices: Use the spices mentioned. If you can’t find tandoori chicken masala then use the regular chicken masala spice mix. Kasuri methi is optional.

Lemon juice: It not only enhances the taste but also helps in tenderising the chicken.

Food color: You could use red food color for a more red appearance. I prefer to use natural spices only for the colour.

Pepper or Cayenne: If you want your chicken to be more hot, add 1 tsp. pepper or cayenne.

Tips to make the Perfect Air fryer Chicken

Choose a whole chicken that fits your air fryer and suits your family’s needs. For my small family of 4, I chose this 1.8 lb. Or 800 gm. chicken.

You can go for double the size of the bird depending upon how many people you are cooking for.

The timings and marinade quantities will accordingly change.

I personally prefer to take out the skin, but feel free to follow this recipe with chicken with skin. The skin will get very crispy and delicious.

Making gashes in the whole chicken helps the marinade to really soak through its flavours right inside. 

Cook the chicken on both sides to get equal browning and cooking. Follow the instructions given.

Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after air frying before carving it.

You can marinate the chicken for 12 hours or overnight. But if you are in a rush, marinade for 2-4 hours before air frying.

Use of both lemon juice and yogurt helps in tenderising the chicken and keeping it moist.

To check for doneness of chicken, use a meat thermometer that should reach 165F internal temperature when poked inside the breast.

I remove the giblets, but if you like them you can marinate them and cook them together with the chicken.

Stepwise Pictures

Remove giblets and wash the chicken.

Dry both the cavity and the outside with paper towels. Make gashes on the chicken with a sharp knife.

This helps the marinade to penetrate through.

Here are all the ingredients of the marinade. Assemble them together.

To make the marinade, mix together yogurt with lemon juice, oil, ginger garlic paste.

Add Kashmiri chilli powder, Tandoori chicken masala, garam masala, ground cumin and coriander, salt and kasuri methi (optional).

Mix well to form a thick marinade.

Take the chicken and generously apply the marinade all over the chicken, in the gashes and inside the cavity.

Cover the chicken with a cling film and refrigerate overnight or at least up to 2-4 hours.

Take the chicken out.

Now preheat the air fryer at 360F or 180C for 5 minutes.

Brush with oil and place the whole chicken carefully breast side down.

Baste with oil or butter.

Air fry at 360F or 180C for 20 minutes. The top will look nice and browned. You can now baste with some oil or butter. This helps keep the chicken moist.

Now carefully flip the chicken so that the breast side is facing up.

Air fry again at 360F or 180C for 8-10 minutes till the top is browned and the chicken is well cooked.

Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature is 165F when poking the breast.

Take out the chicken and let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve it hot with some sliced onions, lemon wedges or sautéed vegetables.

Enjoy.

Storage Instructions:

1. Leftover chicken can be stored in an air tight container for upto 5 days. You can also freeze the chicken and later reheat in the air fryer before serving.

Here's the recipe card:

📖 Recipe Card

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