Sweet Tandoori Chicken

Spicy and flavourful with a slightly smoky taste, this Sweet Tandoori Chicken is mouthwateringly delightful! Tossed in cornstarch and baked in a hot oven, these chicken drumsticks are baked until crisp and then drenched in a sweet and sticky garlicky sauce that takes just minutes to prepare!

When it comes to sweet and sticky chicken recipes, my mother was the queen. A sweet and sticky chicken is the ultimate comfort food for me. I grew up eating chicken baked this way. But, over the past few years, I have developed a taste for spicy food, and even though this chicken isn’t extremely spicy, it still has a little bit of warmth to it. Sweet Tandoori Chicken was not something my mother would ever prepare, but these days this is exactly the type of dinner I crave.

I love recipes that deliver a big bang for your buck. Any recipe with lots of flavour and only a few ingredients, I’m all in! There might look to be a lot of ingredients in this recipe, but most of them are pantry items that you most likely already have. Like my mom, who had a family of five to feed, and knew exactly how to jazz up a meal to make it delicious while using very inexpensive ingredients, I’m following her lead.

I know there are some who prefer not to eat the drumstick or thigh part of the chicken. If that’s you, Dear Reader, you can get the same results using chicken breast. But, you will have to adjust the baking time.  For those of you who are drumstick or thigh aficionados, you will believe me when I say that any meat – chicken or otherwise – always results in a better flavour when cooked with the bone in.  

And, you must trust me with baking time.  I know almost an hour at 450 degrees F seems like a long time to bake chicken, but it works every single time.  I have never made this dish and had it turn out dry or overcooked.  As long as you stick to bone-in, skin-on drumsticks, you will achieve the same results as those in the photos.

THIS CHICKEN IS CERTAINLY FAMILY-FRIENDLY

Whenever I set out to prepare a dish to be posted here on my blog, I always start with how I want to dish to look in the photographs.  I will think of how the dish looks when ready to eat. And, I think about how to present it so that it appeals to the senses.  Sometimes, it can take me a half hour to decide on the right platter, bowl, napkin, fork, tea towel, or accessory.  (I’m not kidding!)  And, once I decide how I want it to be presented, I start the cooking from there.

For this particular Sweet Tandoori Chicken, I wanted to present it family style.  That means I piled the baked drumsticks onto a serving platter with some simple garnish and that was all that was needed. I decided to let the chicken speak for itself. It’s not like that deep, gorgeous red colour needs any help looking good! Family style is my favourite way to plate and serve food and this chicken needed to look just as casual as the preparation itself.  And, Dear Reader, I’m happy with the results.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Chicken – I’m using chicken drumsticks. You can use thighs too if you wish. You can even use skinless if you want. Keeping the bone in will help to keep the chicken from drying out.
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• Cornstarch – This will help to add a light crispy coating to the skin.
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray
• Honey
• Ketchup – The addition of ketchup adds sweetness and acidity to the sauce.
• White Wine Vinegar – This adds so much flavour to the sauce. Also, the acidity balances out the sweetness.
• Tandoori Spice Seasoning Blend – You can find this blend in most grocery stores. Baking supply stores have it too and you can buy just a little of it if you don’t want to commit to buying a whole jar.
• Garlic
• Vegetable Oil
• Parsley – Fresh, chopped, for garnish.

HOW TO MAKE SWEET TANDOORI CHICKEN

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a cooling rack on it. Set that aside. Transfer the chicken to a mixing bowl with the salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Toss well until coated. Next, coat the cooling rack with cooking spray and transfer the chicken to it. It’s imperative to lay the chicken out so that it is not overlapping or even touching for that matter. The space between the chicken will encourage faster cooking and more browning. Bake the chicken for 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven and use tongs to turn each drumstick over. Place them back into the oven to bake for 15 more minutes. Once done, remove from oven and set aside.

While the chicken is baking, add the garlic and cooking oil to a large skillet. Over medium heat, cook the garlic until fragrant and lightly golden brown in colour. Next, add the honey, ketchup, vinegar, and tandoori seasoning blend to the skillet. Stir and cook until the sauce begins to bubble. At this point, turn off the heat until the chicken is fully baked.

Add the fully cooked chicken to the skillet and turn the heat on to high. Toss the chicken well to coat in the sauce. Continue to toss over high heat until the sauce thickens and sticks to the chicken. Plate and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

TANDOORI SPICE SEASONING BLEND

Tandoori spice seasoning allows you to easily bring traditional Indian flavours home. It’s obviously really good paired with my baked Sweet Tandoori Chicken, but it can easily be sprinkled on chicken and grilled too. It’s a vibrantly coloured spice blend that adds a rich, aromatic, and mildly spicy flavour to your recipes.

Depending on the brand you buy or the recipe you follow if you decide to make your own tandoori seasoning blend at home, the ingredients will vary slightly. Most of them will include ground paprika, sea salt, dried garlic, ground coriander, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon, dried onion, ground cumin, ground black pepper, and chili powder.

LET’S MAKE IT A MEAL!

Despite what you might see here in the photographs, I would not recommend serving this Sweet Tandoori Chicken all by itself. Although truth be told, I have been known to sit down to a meal consisting of only a really good, sticky sweet, saucy baked chicken! The flavours of tandoori are not subtle at all, so I’d pair it with sides that might be a little subdued. For example, a creamy potato salad would be a great pairing; it would also provide a cooling aspect to those who might find tandoori to be a little too spicy.

A roasted potato dish would be great as well. Try these mini hasselback potatoes or these paprika potato wedges. Of course, coleslaw is another option. Not only will it work with that cooling idea, but coleslaw is always a safe bet with chicken. I have several coleslaw recipes for you to consider including creamy, vinegary, and some very untraditional slaws as well!

Looking for something healthy? How about this 5 Minute Bean and Chickpea Salad? Of course, when it comes down to it, you can’t possibly go wrong with plain rice! I paired my Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and it was one of the best things I ever ate!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!