Total Meat
1000g
Yogurt
240g
Spices
88g
Time
8 hr
240g
88g
32 ml
8 hr
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Inputs
Result
4 servings × 250g bone-in chicken = 1,000g. Marinade = 1,000 × 0.4 = 400g. Yogurt = 400 × 0.60 = 240g. Spice = 400 × 0.22 = 88g.
Inputs
Result
6 × 180g = 1,080g fish. Marinade = 1,080 × 0.25 = 270g. Yogurt = 270 × 0.60 = 162g. Spice = 270 × 0.22 = 59.4g.
A traditional tandoori marinade uses 60% yogurt, 22% spices (including ginger-garlic paste), 10% oil, and 8% lemon juice by weight relative to the total marinade. For 1 kg of chicken, you need about 400g total marinade: 240g yogurt, 88g spice blend, 40g oil, and 32g lemon juice.
| Component | Percentage | Per 1 kg Chicken |
|---|---|---|
| Yogurt | 60% | 240g |
| Spice Blend | 22% | 88g |
| Oil | 10% | 40g |
| Lemon Juice | 8% | 32g |
Marination time depends on the protein. Bone-in chicken needs 4–24 hours (ideal: 8 hours), boneless chicken 2–12 hours, lamb 6–24 hours, paneer 1–4 hours, and fish/shrimp only 30–120 minutes. The yogurt and lemon juice acids tenderize the meat, but over-marinating delicate proteins makes them mushy.
The six essential tandoori spices are Kashmiri chili powder (25% of spice blend for color without extreme heat), garam masala (20%), ginger-garlic paste (20%), cumin (15%), coriander (10%), and turmeric (10%). Kashmiri chili is non-negotiable — it gives tandoori its signature red color.
Kashmiri chili has much less heat (1,000–2,000 SHU vs 30,000+ SHU for cayenne) but intense red color. If substituting, use 1/4 the amount of cayenne plus 2 tsp sweet paprika per tablespoon of Kashmiri chili to match the color without overwhelming heat. Hungarian paprika is the closest substitute.
Read our guide
Read our guide
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Last Updated: Mar 21, 2026
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