Easy tandoori lamb skewers

Succulent pieces of lamb leg, marinated in a spicy yoghurt marinade, threaded onto skewers and oven-baked until succulent, make a delicious meal. Serve these easy tandoori lamb skewers with side dishes such as air-fried Bombay potatoes, indian-style green beans and kachumber salad for a tasty Indian-inspired meal that's far better than any takeaway!

Jump to:

• Tandoori lamb skewers at a glance
• What is tandoori cooking?
• Cooking tandoori-style at home
• Why you should try these tandoori skewers
• Ingredients for tandoori lamb skewers
• Easy instructions for tandoori lamb skewers
• Tips for a successful outcome
• Serving suggestions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage and freezing
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

What is tandoori cooking?

Tandoori refers to food cooked in a tandoor, which is a traditional clay oven used across India and surrounding regions.

A tandoor is heated with charcoal or wood, and it gets extremely hot (much hotter than a normal oven). It's this intense heat that gives tandoori food its lovely, slightly charred edges and the hint of smokiness, along with the characteristic colour and appearance you expect from dishes cooked in this way.

There are a few key things that make this style of cooking "tandoori" rather than just plain grilled meat:

• The marinade. Most tandoori dishes use a marinade of yoghurt and spices (such as cumin, coriander, chilli, garam masala etc) plus ginger and garlic.
• The heat. Cooking at a very high temperature helps the meat stay tender and juicy, while the outside develops those distinctive, deliciously charred edges.
• The finishing touch. Tandoori dishes are often finished with a squeeze of lemon juice, which adds a touch of freshness and helps to balance the rich, spiced flavours.

Cooking tandoori-style at home

I think it is safe to say that in the Western world at least, there are very few kitchens lucky enough to be equipped with a tandoori oven. So we just have to make the best of what we have and adapt our ovens to do the work.

There are a few ways in which you could cook these yoghurt-marinated lamb skewers to achieve the characteristic tandoori char :

• Use the grill or broiler;
• Cook in the oven with the temperature set to high.
• Cook the Indian lamb skewers outside on a barbeque.
• Cast-iron griddle pan on the hob over high heat. You may like to try these tandoori lamb chops, which are cooked using this method.

With the first 3 options, you will have to keep a watchful eye on the meat so it doesn't burn!

For these yoghurt-marinated tandoori lamb skewers, I opted to place them on a rack set above a tray to allow the heat to circulate, and then I cooked them in a hot oven (220C / 430F - conventional, or 200C / 400F - fan), turning them over 2 or 3 times.

You could use the grill or broiler instead; just place the dish of lamb skewers in the middle of the oven so they are not too close to the heating element, and don't forget to turn them every few minutes.

Whichever option you decide to use, these homemade tandoori lamb skewers should only take 15 to 20 minutes to cook. And once they're cooked, cover them loosely with tin foil and let them rest for a few minutes before serving.

Why you should try these tandoori skewers

• Lots of flavour - minimal effort. A simple yoghurt and spice marinade does all the hard work, giving you plenty of flavour without any complicated steps.
• No special equipment needed. You can recreate the classic tandoori-style using just your oven or grill at home.
• Perfect for entertaining. A plate of these skewers on the table looks great. They make perfect appetisers, and if you add a few side dishes, you've got an easy and relaxed meal to share with friends.
• Great for making ahead. You can prepare and marinate the lamb a day ahead, making it ideal for stress-free cooking when you're ready to eat.

Ingredients for tandoori lamb skewers

**This is just an overview to explain why I used a particular ingredient. You can find the exact ingredient measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**

• Cubed lamb leg. You can often find a small boneless lamb roast in the supermarket, which you can cut up to make cubes of lamb, or you can ask your butcher to cut you some cubed lamb leg. I wouldn't recommend using a different cut of lamb, as this recipe has been specifically developed to use lamb leg.
• Yoghurt. This is Greek or natural yoghurt. It is the basic ingredient in the marinade.
• Lemon juice. This is used both for the marinade and also for squeezing over the lamb skewers just before serving.
• Spices. These are all dried, ground spices - garam masala, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, garlic granules and salt. I even used ginger powder rather than fresh ginger. The idea is to combine everything with the yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice to form the marinade.
• Fresh coriander (not pictured and optional). A little tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander (or cilantro) makes a nice garnish.

Easy instructions for tandoori lamb skewers

Let me show you how to make tandoori lamb skewers at home.

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your tandoori lamb skewers turn out perfectly every time.

• Cut the lamb into evenly-sized pieces. Try to keep the pieces roughly the same size so they cook evenly. There's no need to be too precise, but if you mix very small pieces with larger ones, the smaller pieces can dry out and become tough before the larger ones are cooked through.
• The longer you marinade, the more flavourful the lamb. Aim for at least 4 hours to allow the spices to penetrate the meat. If you have the time, leaving it overnight will give even better results.
• Soak wooden skewers in water to prevent scorching. It's a good idea to soak wooden skewers in cold water for at least 10 minutes before skewering the lamb. It's not the end of the world if you forget - the skewers won't burst into flames. But if you look closely at some of my photos, you'll see that the skewers are scorched and blackened at the ends. (I forgot to soak mine, and I wanted to get on with the recipe.)
• Line your baking dish with tin foil. The marinade will drip off the lamb and burn onto the baking dish. The tin foil makes clean up SO much easier.
• Preheat the oven. This is important - the oven should be heated to the temperature specified in the recipe before the lamb skewers are placed in the oven. This helps the lamb to start cooking immediately, and reduces the risk of it drying out.
• Don't forget to turn the skewers. This is a high-maintenance recipe! (Well, for the 15 - 20 minutes of cooking time at least). For the best results, turn the skewers every few minutes so they cook evenly and develop a light char on all sides. This is especially important if you're using the grill.
• Don't overcook the lamb. Lamb leg is quite lean and can become tough if overcooked. Remove it from the oven sooner rather than later - it will continue to cook slightly as it rests.
• Let the lamb rest before serving. Resting the lamb for 10 minutes allows the lamb skewers to finish cooking in the residual heat and lets the juices redistribute, resulting in more succulent lamb.

Serving suggestions

If you intend to serve these little tandoori skewers as an appetiser, I would advise you to serve them with a bowl of raita as a refreshing dipping sauce. Here is an easy version

• Peel and grate half a cucumber and squeeze out as much water as possible. Combine it with 1 cup of yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of freshly chopped mint, half a teaspoon of ground cumin and a pinch of salt to taste. Chill for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

To serve them as a main meal, you should include a few side dishes, such as:

• Indian style green beans
• Saag aloo
• Kachumber salad, which is a refreshing salad made with finely chopped cucumber, tomato and onions, combined with chopped coriander and a refreshing lemon juice drizzle.
• South African chilli bites (recipe coming soon) or buttery garlic naan bread
• Air-fryer Bombay potatoes (recipe coming soon).

Variations

Add some veggies to the skewers by alternating vegetable slices with the meat. Why not try some of these:

• onion petals
• capsicum/bell pepper
• baby mushrooms
• cherry tomatoes

For those of you who like more heat, simply add extra cayenne pepper, or chop a bird's eye chilli into the marinade.

Equipment

If you are cooking these lamb skewers in the oven, I strongly recommend placing them on a wire rack set above a baking tray. This allows the heat to circulate and helps the lamb cook evenly all over.

You could also cook the skewers directly on a greased baking tray, but the marinade from the meat would tend to make the meat steam or boil rather than char.

You will also need a glass or ceramic dish large enough to hold the marinade and the lamb cubes.

Wooden skewers to thread the lamb. Use whatever size you prefer, depending on how large you want to make the lamb kebabs.

Storage and freezing

• Refrigerator. You can store leftover tandoori skewers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep them in a covered container, such as Tupperware or similar, to prevent them from drying out.
• Reheat. The lamb skewers can be reheated for a few seconds in the microwave. Take care not to leave them too long, as they can dry out quickly. I normally reheat them in 10-second blasts on half power.
• Using leftovers. I had a lot of skewers leftover (I made far too many for the 2 of us). I removed the lamb from the skewers and defrosted a packet of tamatie smoor (tomato and onion stew) that I had in the freezer. I brought the tomato stew to a boil in a saucepan, added the pieces of lamb, simmered them for a few minutes and served it over rice with a helping of peas on the side. It made a really tasty (and quick and easy) meal!
• Freezing. I wouldn't freeze the cooked tandoori lamb skewers. They would become dry and tough once frozen, thawed and reheated. However, the uncooked lamb skewers in the marinade can be frozen for up to 3 months, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator and cooked for the time and temperature given in the recipe.

FAQ

Save for later

If you would like to try these tandoori lamb skewers, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

Related recipes

Visit my curry recipes page for other tasty curries. Here are a few using lamb that you might enjoy.

📋The recipe

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.