Tandoori Chicken Sides: Best Pairings and What to Serve With It

When you pull tandoori chicken, a smoky, spiced Indian grilled chicken dish traditionally cooked in a clay oven. Also known as tandoori murgh, it's a centerpiece dish that demands the right companions to balance its bold flavor. Tandoori chicken isn’t meant to be eaten alone. Its charred exterior and tangy yogurt marinade need something cool, fresh, or crunchy to cut through the heat. That’s where the sides come in—not as afterthoughts, but as essential partners.

Think of the classic trio: naan, a soft, oven-baked flatbread that’s perfect for scooping up chicken and sauce, mint chutney, a bright, herbal condiment made with fresh cilantro, mint, green chili, and lemon, and cucumber raita, a cooling yogurt mix with grated cucumber, cumin, and a pinch of salt. These aren’t just side dishes—they’re flavor regulators. Without them, tandoori chicken can feel overwhelming. With them, it sings. You’ll find in the posts below that even small choices matter: using the wrong yogurt in the marinade ruins the texture, skipping the chutney makes the meal feel incomplete, and serving it with plain rice instead of warm naan misses the point entirely.

Some people try to pair tandoori chicken with heavy sides like biryani or creamy curries, but that’s like adding another loud voice to a choir—it muddles the melody. The best sides are simple, clean, and contrast. A crisp salad of onions and tomatoes, a wedge of lime to squeeze over the chicken, or even a side of pickled carrots can make all the difference. You don’t need fancy ingredients. You need the right combinations. The posts here cover everything from what not to do when marinating tandoori chicken, to how chutney transforms the experience, to why cooling your sides matters just as much as cooking the chicken. Whether you’re serving it at a weekend dinner or a casual weeknight meal, the right sides turn good tandoori chicken into a memorable one.