The ultimate tandoori chicken recipe for keto weight loss
Ever thought that after deciding to go on a keto diet, you could relish your Indian taste bud? How many times did you go to a restaurant and resisted ordering a full plate of well cooked tandoori chicken? Every non-vegetarian craves for a freshly baked and tender tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken is one dish which is known to be popular all over the world and with Indian spices, the flavor is always enhanced.
The fundamental and most important procedure for preparation of a dish is to marinate the chicken properly. Tandoori chicken has a tangy, spiced flavor with smoky tinge because of either tandoor (clay oven) or grill. Every household doesn’t have a clay oven; hence this recipe will illustrate the method in a common over or a microwave. But the main question which arises is how chicken can be helpful in reducing weight.
Health benefits of Chicken
1. Protein content–
Protein is a very essential macronutrient which most of the people don’t intake. There is approximately 27g of protein per 100g of chicken.
It can increase the amount of protein supply in a diet. No other vegetable has protein content more than chicken.
For people who want to gain muscles and strength, chicken is the best keto diet source. Protein content improves the body composition and leads to the feeling of fullness in the body. Intake of protein can also increase the fat burning procedure in the body.
2. Weight loss–
Total fat content in 100 g of chicken is 14g.
Chicken is a lean meat which doesn’t increase the body weight. Instead, it is helpful for a healthy meal during keto diet.
It is necessary to cook your meat in a way that there is intake of low carbohydrate. Baked and grilled food is always better if you want to reduce weight.
It is important for an individual to take care of the fulfillment of the metabolic needs. Chicken provides a meal to fulfill the needs of a body.
3. Immunity booster–
Chicken has been proven the most effective way to treat cold and flu in the form of chicken soup. Chicken soup can help wash off the infectious cells in throat passage and create a lining for the prevention of cold.
There are certain immune cells in blood called lymphocytes and neutrophils. Chicken helps in inhibiting the destruction of these cells.
Chicken also consists of Vitamin A, B6 and C which helps in the formation of new blood cells. It also consists of magnesium, phosphorus and anti- oxidants which increases immunity in the body.
Tips and tricks to avoid any mistake
Keep the quantity of yogurt as it is mentioned.
If the amount of yogurt is more, the chicken doesn’t turn out to be crispier. Yogurt makes it soggier and too moist to retain any flavor.
Excess yogurt also takes too much time in cooking because it is a heat insulator. If after marinating you feel that yogurt was in excess, then wipe off a bit with tissue.
Put the yogurt in a sieve so that it removes all the excess water. Excess water in it can reduce the quantity of actual yogurt and changes the whole taste of it.
If using a sieve is a little hectic for you then you can also avoid not taking excess water in the measuring cup.
It is necessary to let the chicken marinate for an ample amount of time. It helps to keep the flavors intact and let it penetrate the inside of chicken.
If the chicken is not properly marinated, it might leave the taste of raw chicken or just yogurt. The keyword for tender tandoori chicken is longer the time you marinate, fuller the taste you get
Do not put too much salt in the marinade because it takes all the moisture from the meat. This lets the meat dry.
If you think that there might be less salt according to you then you can also add salt during the cooking. It would be better for your health as well as a keto diet to use low sodium salt.
Do keep in mind to keep enough marinade for a flavorsome dish.
Basically, all the herbs and spices used in marination get dissolved in the marinade which is transferred onto the surface of food.
If there won’t be enough marinade, it might not intake any flavor in it.
Do not overcook the chicken. It can lead to drying up of the liquid content from it. It is a well known fact that if the food is overcooked, it is burnt.
Keep checks on the chicken while cooking.
After marination is done, let the chicken come to room temperature before cooking. Frozen or ice chilled chicken will take 50% longer time than room temperature.
Keep the bowl outside the fridge at least two hours before the cooking time.
Why does tandoori chicken come in a keto diet?
Tandoori or roasted chicken requires no Trans fat, even in marination only a one or two teaspoons of oil is used. Whereas, fried chicken is fried in oil. It has a higher amount of fat and is an unhealthy meal. Tandoori chicken is enriched in protein, which is why it fulfills the requirement of energy.
If you are a person who wants to get thin or want to build muscles, it becomes necessary to go on a regular diet in parallel to daily exercise. Tandoori chicken not only fills the place for adequate protein requirement but also provides energy for the body to function.
It is also noticed that in the name of keto diet people have misconceptions that you will not be allowed to do anything but instead it depends on the intake of the entire macro as well as micronutrient in a required amount.
To fulfill the entire criteria of the body, tandoori chicken becomes a valid dish. It also gives change to the taste buds for all the chicken lovers. It is to be remembered that there shouldn’t be any kind of added carbohydrate.

Nutrition value-
In 100 g chicken-
- Calories – 392
- Protein – 31 g
- Fat – 3.6 g
- Carbohydrate – 3 g
- Fiber – 1 g
Time-
- Preparation time – 10 minutes
- Marinating time – Overnight
- Cooking time – 30-40 minutes
- Serving – 4 people
Ingredients
For marinade
- 200 gm Chicken- preferably without bones
- 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon of crushed ginger
- 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon of paprika powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or chilli flakes
- 1/3 teaspoon of cumin powder
- 1/3 teaspoon of coriander powder
- A pinch of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon olive oil or almond oil
- 1/2 cup yogurt
How to make keto tandoori chicken?
Step 1 – Wash the chicken
To get a dish ready, it is essential to take care about hygiene. Wash the chicken thoroughly with Lukewarm water to rule out the possibility of any infection. Rewash it with cold water and pat dry the chicken with a clean towel.
Step 2 – Mixing of ingredients
In a bowl mix crushed garlic, crushed ginger. Ginger and garlic can be crushed manually or either by grinding it in a shaker. You can also use the powdered form of garlic and ginger. Avoid using garlic ginger paste because it might have hidden http://www.pharmacy-reviews.org additives, food color and carbohydrate.
Add chilli powder, paprika powder, cayenne pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper and salt to the garlic ginger paste. The quantity of all the herbs and spices are mentioned in the above section of ingredients.
Cayenne pepper might not be available at home, so you can also use chilli flakes instead. If you don’t have taste buds of spicy food, you can reduce the quantity of spices.
Mix it thoroughly until its uniform.
Add olive oil and yogurt to the mixture. Do not add any food color, taste matters not color. It is advised to mix the ingredients thoroughly for uniformity.

Step 3 – First marination of the chicken
Cut slits or diagonal incisions in the chicken. It helps the marinating mixture to penetrate in the slits as well. There should be three- four incisions on the fleshy areas of the chicken. This should be noticed that the incision must reach to the bone on the center of the chicken leg.
Use a deep and shallow utensil to keep the chicken.
Rub lemon juice, salt and paprika on it. Use your fingers to rub the spices on it.
Make sure that you rub a little inside the incisions for better taste. For hygiene purposes you may use gloves as well. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. It helps to retain the taste of spices.
Step 4 – Second marination
In this, the marinating mixture of step two is used to rub on the chicken. The mixture should be rubbed properly so that it penetrates the slits or incisions. Even for this, use your fingers for better results. Marinate both the sides of the chicken until it’s covered with the mixture.
Keep the chicken in a fridge overnight.
Step 5 – Bake or grill the marinated chicken
Pre- heat the oven to 190C/374F for ten to fifteen minutes and lay a parchment or butter paper below the chicken pieces and bake the chicken for about 35-40 minutes until the chicken turn medium brown in color and has a crispy look. Regular checking the oven is important so that the dish isn’t overcooked.
If you don’t have an oven, you can also grill it in the microwave. Select the grill option and keep changing the sides within 10 minutes. Brush with oil for extra crispness. It will also take 30-40 minutes.
Step 6 – Serve it hot
Garnish the tandoor chicken with coriander leaves and lemon zest. It can be eaten with roti or rice and there are many options available below.
What to serve it with?
- Can be eaten with salads – After it is cooked, cut the chicken pieces into small slices just like vegetables are cut. Slice all the vegetables such as onion, tomato, broccoli and cabbage. Add a little chaat masala and lime juice to it for better taste.
- Can be eaten with keto breads – You can make breads from ketofy- keto flour, which is a healthier option and makes it a proper and healthy meal. Keto flour can also be used to make Indian breads but without any kind of oil.
- Tandoori chicken wrap – If you like to eat wraps, then you can also use lettuce. Wrap the sliced tandoori chicken in lettuce leaf and you are ready to go.
- With ketofy- keto rice
- With cauliflower rice – You can also make cauliflower rice to eat it with tandoori chicken.