Tangdi Kabab Recipe: Oven-Roasted Chicken Drumsticks
Tangdi means leg. That is more or less the whole recipe in one word.
At Madras Cafe, a lot of our chicken meets the heat of a clay tandoor, but you do not need one to get the idea. This tangdi kabab recipe takes ten chicken drumsticks, a yoghurt marinade full of herbs and gentle spice, and an ordinary oven, and it gives you juicy, well-flavoured chicken with a scatter of tangy chaat masala on top. It is the sort of dish that disappears from the plate before anyone has sat down.
What does tangdi mean?
Tangdi, which is also spelled tangri, literally translates to legs, and kabab is simply a piece of grilled food. So a tangdi kabab is a kabab made from chicken legs, and drumsticks are the classic cut. Some Indian menus and food guides list it as a traditional chicken dish from North India, grilled in a tandoor or over charcoal. The List of kebabs on Wikipedia describes the tangri kebab as chicken legs roasted on open fire with hot spices and laced with butter or ghee.
It is easy to confuse with its famous relative. Tandoori chicken is made from chicken marinated in yoghurt and tandoori masala and roasted in a tandoor, and its modern form was popularised at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi in the late 1940s. Tangdi kabab shares the yoghurt marinade, but it is all about the leg.
A short history of the kabab
The word kebab comes from Persian kabab, which probably means roasted meat, and it may go back to ancient Aramaic or Akkadian roots meaning to burn or roast. Kebab descriptions appear in a 10th century cookbook from Baghdad, the Kitab al-Tabikh. In India, kebab was already being served in the royal houses during the Delhi Sultanate, which ran from 1206 to 1526, and even commoners would enjoy it for breakfast with naan.
The oven that made these dishes famous has its own long story. In India, tandoor cooking is traditionally associated with Punjab, and Punjabi cuisine records similar ovens as far back as the Harappan civilisation around 3000 BC. If you want the whole story, browse the rest of our Food Stories for how the tandoor works. And if you like a kebab with a frontier backstory, our chapli kabab recipe is the next one to try.
Tangdi Kabab Recipe
Makes: 10 drumsticks Marinate: at least 2 hours in the fridge Roast: about 20 minutes, or until cooked through
Ingredients
10 chicken drumsticks
1 tbsp yoghurt
½ tsp crushed dry fenugreek leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp oil
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp black pepper powder
½ tsp green chilli paste
½ tsp coriander leaves and mint leaves, finely minced
¼ tsp garam masala powder
¼ tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt, to taste
Chaat masala, to garnish
Method
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except the drumsticks and the chaat masala.
Add the drumsticks to the marinade and coat them well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Place the drumsticks on a rack, ideally set over a baking tray to catch the drips, and roast for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. Turn them over from time to time so they cook evenly on every side.
Remove the drumsticks from the rack and serve hot, with chaat masala sprinkled on top.
How to check they are cooked
Drumsticks vary in size, so go by the chicken and not the clock. Food Standards Scotland says chicken should be cooked thoroughly: a food thermometer should read 75°C or above, and when you cut into the meat it should be steaming hot, the juices should run clear and there should be no pink meat. Keep the marinating chicken in the fridge the whole time, and if the thickest drumstick is not quite there, give it a few more minutes.
Why each ingredient is in the bowl
Nothing here is decoration. Every item in the marinade does a job.
Yoghurt and lemon juice. Both are acidic, and acid in a marinade helps the meat take in moisture, which is what keeps drumsticks juicy. Marinades often use lemon juice and yoghurt for exactly this reason. Yoghurt is made by bacterial fermentation, and the lactic acid it contains gives it its tart flavour. In South Asian cooking, dahi is a base for everything from marinades to raita.
Turmeric. Turmeric gets its golden colour from curcumin, and it has been used across the Indian subcontinent for a very long time. Archaeological evidence for it turns up at Farmana between 2600 and 2200 BCE.
Black pepper. Black pepper is native to South Asia, particularly the Malabar Coast, and it has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. Its heat comes from a compound called piperine.
Dried fenugreek leaves. Sold as kasuri methi, these give a slightly bitter, savoury note. Fenugreek was brought into cultivation in the Near East, and its English name comes from the Latin for Greek hay. It contains a compound called sotolon, which smells of maple syrup or caramel at low levels.
Garam masala. The name means hot or warm spices in Hindustani. Garam masala has no single recipe, with cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves and pepper among the usual suspects, and it is traditionally added near the end of cooking for flavour.
Chaat masala. This is the finishing touch. Chaat masala is a tangy blend built around amchoor, or dried mango powder, with cumin, coriander, dried ginger, black salt, black pepper, asafoetida and chilli. It was originally created to flavour chaat, the Indian street snacks it is named after, and it works just as well sprinkled on hot chicken.
What to serve with tangdi kabab
Tangdi kabab works as a starter for a crowd or as part of a bigger spread. Serve the drumsticks hot with lemon wedges and sliced red onion, or alongside a flatbread and a bowl of rice. If you would rather leave the cooking to us, our menu has plenty of chicken from the grill, including the Madaresee Chicken Tikka, marinated overnight in rustic spices, Kashmiri chilli and yoghurt, and the Grilled Masala Wings.
Frequently asked questions
What does tangdi mean in tangdi kabab? Tangdi, also spelled tangri, means legs, so tangdi kabab is a kabab made from chicken legs. Drumsticks are the classic cut.
What is the difference between tangdi kabab and tandoori chicken? Both start with a yoghurt-based marinade. Tangdi kabab is made specifically from chicken legs, while tandoori chicken can use larger chicken pieces, and it is traditionally cooked in a clay tandoor oven.
Can I make tangdi kabab in a regular oven? Yes. This recipe uses a preheated home oven and a rack, so you do not need a tandoor.
How long should I marinate the drumsticks? Refrigerate them for at least 2 hours. Keep the marinating chicken in the fridge the whole time.
How do I know the chicken is cooked? Food Standards Scotland advises that a food thermometer should read 75°C or above, the juices should run clear and there should be no pink meat.
What is chaat masala? Chaat masala is a tangy spice blend built around amchoor, or dried mango powder, with cumin, coriander, dried ginger, black salt, black pepper, asafoetida and chilli. It is sprinkled over the hot drumsticks just before serving.
Come and eat with us in Glasgow
Madras Cafe is at 120 Stockwell Street, Glasgow G1 4LW, a short walk from Glasgow Central Station. Have a look at the full menus, then book a table or order online. If you have allergies or dietary needs, tell us when you book and the team will guide you.