Tandoori Chicken Naan Buns (Soft Stuffed Buns)
Tandoori chicken naan buns are what happens when a bakery bun meets a tandoor. Spiced, yogurt-marinated chicken is cooked until lightly charred, given a quick blast of smoke, then wrapped in a soft, enriched naan-style dough with a little mozzarella and baked until golden. A brush of garlic butter finishes them off. They make a brilliant party snack, lunchbox treat or light dinner, and every part can be prepared ahead. If you love these, try our chicken tikka sliders too.
Why you'll love this
- Soft, pillowy buns. Milk, yogurt and butter make an enriched dough that stays tender.
- Real tandoori flavour. A yogurt-spice marinade and a quick smoke give the chicken its character.
- Cheesy centre. A little mozzarella melts around the chicken.
- Make-ahead friendly. Marinate the chicken and make the dough the day before.
- Perfect for sharing. Eight hand-held buns, great for parties and lunchboxes.
- Adjustable heat. Use more or less chilli to suit your crowd.
Key ingredients & how to use them
- Chicken tenders — 400 g, about four pieces. They cook quickly and stay juicy; boneless thighs work too.
- Yogurt and lemon juice — the marinade base. The acidity tenderises the chicken and helps the spices cling.
- Tandoori spices — red chilli powder, chilli flakes, turmeric, coriander, cumin, onion powder and garam masala. A spoonful of ready-made tikka masala powder is an optional shortcut for extra depth.
- Smoking chips — optional, but a single smouldering wood chip under a lid gives the chicken the smoky taste of a tandoor.
- Warm milk and yeast — the milk should feel just warm. Too hot and it kills the yeast.
- All-purpose flour, sugar and salt — 325 g of flour for a soft dough. The sugar feeds the yeast and helps browning.
- Softened butter and yogurt — these enrich the dough, keeping the buns tender like a naan.
- Mozzarella, egg wash, sesame and garlic butter — for the filling and the golden, glossy finish.
How to make it (step by step)
-
1
Marinate the chicken
Stir the yogurt, tomato puree, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, salt and all the spices (plus the tikka masala powder if using) together in a bowl. Add the chicken tenders, coat them well, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes; a few hours is even better.
-
2
Start the dough
Warm the milk until it feels just warm to your finger, not hot. Stir in the sugar and yeast and leave it for 10 minutes until foamy. If it does not foam, the yeast is inactive or the milk was too hot — start again.
-
3
Knead and let it rise
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the foamy milk, yogurt and softened butter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, by hand or with a dough hook, until the dough is soft, smooth and slightly tacky. Cover and leave it somewhere warm for about 1 hour, until doubled.
-
4
Cook and smoke the chicken
Heat the oil, butter or ghee in a skillet and cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until lightly charred and cooked through to 165°F (74°C). For the smoky tandoori flavour, set a small heatproof bowl in the pan, add a smouldering smoking chip, drizzle it with a little oil, cover with a lid for 2 minutes, then remove the bowl. Chop the chicken into small pieces and stir in the cilantro.
-
5
Fill and shape the buns
Knock back the dough and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Flatten each into a disc, add a spoonful of chicken and a little mozzarella, then gather the edges over the filling and pinch firmly to seal. Set the buns seam-side down on a lined baking tray, spaced apart.
-
6
Second rise
Cover the buns loosely and let them rise for about 30 minutes, until puffy. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
-
7
Egg wash and bake
Brush the buns generously with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes, until deep golden brown and hollow-sounding underneath.
-
8
Finish with garlic butter
While the buns bake, melt the butter with the garlic. Brush it over the buns as soon as they come out of the oven and scatter with chopped cilantro. Serve warm.
Troubleshooting
- The dough did not rise. The yeast was old or the milk was too hot. Test the yeast first: it should foam within 10 minutes in just-warm milk.
- The buns burst open in the oven. They were not sealed tightly or were overfilled. Use a modest spoonful of filling and pinch the seams firmly.
- The filling is dry. The chicken was overcooked. Pull it off the heat at 165°F (74°C); it cooks a little more in the oven.
- Dense, heavy buns. The dough was under-kneaded or did not rise fully. Knead until smooth and stretchy and let it double.
- Pale tops. Brush the egg wash generously and bake until deep golden, not just light brown.
- No smoky flavour. The chip was not smouldering. Light it until it glows, then cover the pan quickly to trap the smoke.
How to get tandoor flavour at home
A real tandoor cooks at very high heat and the dripping fat and marinade hit the coals, which gives tandoori chicken its char and smoky aroma. You can get surprisingly close in a home kitchen with two tricks. The first is heat: cook the chicken in a very hot skillet or under a hot grill so the yogurt marinade blisters and chars at the edges. The second is smoke, using the traditional dhungar method — set a small heatproof bowl among the chicken, drop in a glowing piece of wood or charcoal, drizzle it with a few drops of oil or ghee, and cover the pan for two minutes. The smoke settles into the chicken and the filling tastes like it came from a street stall.
Work near an open window or under the extractor fan, keep the lid on while it smokes, and remove the bowl before you uncover the pan.
Make-ahead plan
These buns are easy to spread over two days. On day one, marinate the chicken and refrigerate it overnight. On day two, start the dough in the morning; while it rises, cook, smoke and chop the chicken and let it cool. Fill and shape the buns, give them their second rise and bake. You can also bake them completely, cool them and freeze them, then reheat in the oven straight from frozen for about 15 minutes — handy for parties and lunchboxes.
Pro tips
- Marinate the chicken overnight for the deepest flavour.
- Chop the cooked chicken small so it fills the buns evenly.
- Cool the filling before shaping; hot filling melts the dough.
- Weigh the dough pieces for even buns.
- Brush the garlic butter on while the buns are hot so it soaks in.
- Leave space between buns on the tray so they bake evenly.
Variations
- Paneer version. Use cubes of paneer in the marinade for a vegetarian bun.
- Tikka wraps. Roll the dough into flatbreads instead, cook on a hot pan and wrap the chicken inside.
- Extra cheesy. Add a little cheddar with the mozzarella.
- Spicier. Add chopped green chillies to the filling.
- Mini buns. Divide the dough into 16 for bite-size party buns; bake for about 15 minutes.
- Whole wheat. Replace up to half the flour with whole wheat flour.
Storage
Store cooled buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes so the outside stays soft and the filling heats through, or microwave briefly. They freeze well for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven.
Serving ideas
Serve the buns warm with mint chutney, raita or a simple onion and cucumber salad. For a spread, add our chicken tikka paratha rolls and finish with gulab jamun for dessert.
More recipes to try
Marinated chicken always leaves me planning the rest of the table. Chicken and yellow rice makes a warm, spiced base if you'd rather serve everything on a plate than in bread. Rotel tacos keep the handheld idea going with a Tex-Mex twist, and when dessert is the last box to tick, a fricasse cake ends things on something sweet. If you like a stuffed bread, the Dubai viral paratha and the authentic banh mi are worth trying next.
Recipe
Tandoori Chicken Naan Wrap Recipe
Soft yogurt-enriched naan-style buns stuffed with smoky tandoori chicken and mozzarella, baked until golden and brushed with garlic butter.
Ingredients
- 400 g chicken tenders (about 4 pieces)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 small tomato, pureed
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1–2 tablespoons chicken tikka masala powder (optional)
- 2 tablespoons oil, butter or ghee, for cooking
- A handful of wood smoking chips (optional)
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 160 g (about 2/3 cup) warm milk
- 2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
- 325 g (about 2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 40 g (about 3 tablespoons) sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 60 g (about 1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt, preferably full-fat
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
- Egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk
- 1–2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or minced garlic
- Chopped cilantro, to garnish
Instructions
- Mix the yogurt, tomato puree, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, salt and spices. Coat the chicken and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm milk and leave for 10 minutes until foamy.
- Combine the flour and salt, add the yeast mixture, yogurt and softened butter, and knead 8 to 10 minutes into a soft dough. Cover and let rise about 1 hour until doubled.
- Cook the chicken in the oil, butter or ghee over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side until charred and cooked to 165°F (74°C). Smoke it under a lid with a smouldering wood chip for 2 minutes if you like, then chop and mix with cilantro.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces, flatten each, fill with chicken and a little mozzarella, and pinch firmly to seal. Place seam-side down on a lined tray.
- Cover and let the buns rise for about 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake about 20 minutes until deep golden.
- Brush the hot buns with butter melted with garlic, sprinkle with cilantro and serve warm.
Tips & notes
- The total time includes 30 minutes of marinating, about 1 hour for the first rise and 30 minutes for the second.
- Cook the chicken to 165°F (74°C) before filling.
- Let the filling cool before shaping so the dough does not tear.
- Pinch the seams firmly so the buns do not open in the oven.
- The smoking step is optional but adds real tandoori flavour.
Watch how to make it
Nutrition · per serving (estimate)
Made this recipe?
Tap the stars to leave your rating — it helps other home cooks.
Frequently asked questions
What are tandoori chicken naan buns?
They are soft, enriched buns made from a naan-style dough with yogurt, milk and butter, stuffed with chopped tandoori chicken and mozzarella, then baked and brushed with garlic butter.
How long should I marinate the chicken?
At least 30 minutes, but a few hours or overnight in the fridge gives deeper flavour and more tender chicken. Do not go beyond 24 hours, as the acid can make the texture mushy.
Can I make these without smoking chips?
Yes. The smoking step adds a tandoor-like flavour but is optional. A pinch of smoked paprika in the marinade gives a hint of smokiness without the chips.
Can I use instant yeast?
Yes. Instant yeast can be mixed straight into the flour without proofing, though proofing in warm milk is a good way to check the yeast is alive.
Why didn't my dough rise?
Usually the yeast was old or the milk was too hot. Milk should feel just warm. Rise times also stretch in a cold kitchen, so give the dough longer if needed.
Can I make the buns ahead?
Yes. Marinate and cook the chicken a day ahead, or bake the buns fully and reheat them in the oven. Baked buns freeze well for up to 2 months.
Can I make them with paneer instead of chicken?
Yes. Cube paneer, coat it in the same marinade and pan-fry it briefly until charred before chopping and filling the buns.
What should I serve with tandoori chicken naan buns?
Mint chutney, raita or a crunchy onion and cucumber salad are perfect. They also make a filling lunch with a bowl of lentil soup.
Leave a review