Tandoori Chicken Kebabs – Who says grilling has to have an off-season? Grill to stave off the chill with these light, spicy, and delicious Indo-Pak tandoori-style chicken kebabs.
Summer may be the official season for grilling, but here in Southeastern Pennsylvania deliciously grilled dishes can be pushed well into the beginning half of November.
And why wouldn’t you? There’s something so relaxing about standing in front of a hot grill on a chilly day, being hugged by a cozy sweater, warmed by a glass of pinot, and watching colorful leaves fall from the trees… *sigh*
With the onset of colder weather I transition my grilling recipes from bright and fresh flavors to spicy and savory.
This recipe for Tandoori Chicken Kebabs has been a mainstay in my household for quite a while now. It comes together quickly and I end up with tender, flavorful chicken every time.
Serve them on a bed of rice or on my Sweet Coconut Cauliflower Rice. For a side vegetable, sauté some greens (like in my recipe for Quick and Easy Kale), and you’ve got a nutritious, easy-to-make meal with flavors that will knock your fluffy socks off.
Of course, in a recipe like this one, the sauce is the most important thing. I especially love this marinade because it’s held together with Greek yogurt, so you only need 2 Tbsp of oil. That makes it a lighter tandoori, but you would never guess because it’s so mouthwatering!
Simply combine all of the ingredients together and purée using a hand blender. If you don’t have a hand blender yet, you’ve really run out of excuses. Seriously – they’re so affordable, useful, and incredibly easy to clean.
I use the Cuisinart Smart Stick and highly recommend it. Of course, you can use a regular blender or a food processor, too, they’re just a lot more work to clean-up…
For you planners out there, this recipe is also perfect for freezing. Just make your sauce, precut your chicken, combine in a freezer-safe bag, and pop into the freezer.
When you’re ready to use it, place it in the fridge the night before you plan to cook it and then skewer before grilling. You can even skewer the chicken ahead of time as long as you plan on using wooden ones, but I would store them in a disposable foil dish. Otherwise, they could poke holes in all your other bags and wreak havoc on your freezer!
In closing, I wish you a happy beginning to the Fall season and good health as you warm yourself by a toasty grill! Enjoy the (second) most wonderful time of the year… 😉
- 2 lb chicken tenderloins
- ½ C chopped sweet onion
- juice from ½ of a lemon
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp coriander
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ C plain 2% greek yogurt
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- 8 skewers
- If you're using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in cold water for one hour prior to skewering the chicken, so that they don't burn on your grill. For metal skewers, lightly grease them with olive oil or cooking spray. Preheat and clean your grill.
- Combine the onions, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, paprika, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cayenne, salt, and greek yogurt in the cup that came with your hand mixer, or in a blender or a food processor. Puree until smooth.
- Trim off the small piece of tendon that may be on some of your chicken tenderloins and then cut into 1" bite-sized pieces.
- Skewer the chicken, and then coat with kebab sauce. Allow them to marinade for 15-30 minutes before grilling.
- Grill over direct high heat (450º-550º F) for 10-12 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times. Be sure to keep the lid closed as much as possible.
- Serve on the skewer, or slide them off with a fork (metal skewers tend to get too hot for serving). Garnish with cilantro before serving.
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: Make your sauce, pre-cut your chicken, combine in a freezer-safe bag, and pop into the freezer. When you're ready to use it, place it in the fridge the night before you plan to cook it and then skewer before grilling. You can even skewer the chicken ahead of time as long as you plan on using wooden ones, but I would store them in a disposable foil dish. Otherwise, they could poke holes in all your other bags and wreak havoc on your freezer!
This looks delicious! We love to use our grill during the summer, but forget how nice it would be to use in the Fall. I really like the flavors you put into your chicken and being that you grill them I bet they are so juicy. Will have to try this recipe for my family. Great post! Thank you for linking to our Small Victories Sunday link up. 🙂
My favorite thing about grilling is less dishes, so I try to stretch the season as far in to October or November as I can. Thanks for visiting from Small Victories Sunday link up. You have a lot of great ideas on there!
Looks delicious and flavorful! Thanks for sharing at Small Victories Sunday Linkup!
Thanks Danita!
I have just consigned several of our chickens to the freezer and am pinning this so I can make it later 🙂 #2usestuesday
Awesome! Rosie, you’ll have to let me know how it turns out!
My family is from India and I absolutely love Tandoori Chicken. So excited to see an Indian recipe in our Small Victories Sunday Linkup! Thanks for sharing, Pinning to our linkup board and hope you found some great posts to visit this week!
Indian food is one of my favs. I lived in Nepal for a while when I was a teenager, and from my understanding, their curries are most similar to those in Northern India. During my stay I fell in love with all that spice and goodness! Thanks for pinning me to the linkup board!