tandoori

American  

[tahn-door-ee] / tɑnˈdʊər i /

adjective

1. baked or cooked in a tandoor.

   tandoori chicken.

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noun

1. a plural of tandoor.

tandoori British  

/ tænˈdʊərɪ /

noun

1. 1. an Indian method of cooking meat or vegetables on a spit in a clay oven

   2. ( as modifier )

      tandoori chicken

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Etymology

Origin of tandoori

1965–70; from Hindi tandūrī, adjective derivative of tandūr tandoor ( def. )

Example Sentences

Veeraswamy introduced the UK's first tandoor oven that decade - and a 1959 menu offers chicken tandoori for the equivalent of 52p in pre-decimal currency.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

Size is also an issue at Tamarind Tribeca, an Indian restaurant in New York that makes tandoori turkey, a variation of the chicken dish also prepared in a vertical oven.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

For me, the tandoori chicken was the star of the show and its flavors made me nostalgic for my mom’s home cooking.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2024

The two families both say that it was their own Kundan who invented butter chicken — the creamy, heavenly marriage of tandoori chicken and tomato gravy beloved everywhere north Indian food is served.

From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024

When the music comes back on, waiters appear with appetizers and plate after heaping plate of mouthwatering food—biryani and kebabs and tandoori chicken and samosas.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed