Tandoori Chicken Smash Tacos on Roti

These tandoori chicken tacos are what happens when roti-sabzi night gets an upgrade. Spread tandoori-marinated chicken keema thin on a roti, press it face-down on a hot tawa, and the meat fries into a crisp, smoky layer welded to the bread.

Fold it over melted cheese, pack in cold crunchy slaw, and dinner's done. The only seasoning is one pack of Tandoori Heritage.

Prep: 25 min (includes 15 min marinating) · Cook: 15 min · Total: 40 min · Makes: 6 tacos (serves 2–3) · Course: Dinner · Cuisine: Indian

Why you'll love it

  • One pack seasons the keema. Nothing else to measure.
  • No oven. Everything happens on a tawa.
  • Uses rotis you already have. Tortillas work too.

Ingredients for tandoori chicken tacos

  • 250–300 g chicken keema (mince)
  • 1 pack Tandoori Heritage
  • 40 ml water
  • 1 tbsp melted butter or ghee
  • 6 small rotis, phulkas or flour tortillas (6–7 inch)
  • 6 tbsp grated mozzarella or processed cheese
  • Slaw: 1 cup finely shredded cabbage, ½ grated carrot, ½ thinly sliced onion, 2 tbsp mayo or hung curd, 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Butter for the tawa
  • Mint or coriander leaves, to finish

How to make tandoori chicken smash tacos

  1. Marinate the keema. Mix the blend with 40 ml water and the melted butter into a paste. Work it into the keema with a spoon or your hands for a minute until sticky. Rest for 15 minutes.
  2. Make the slaw. Toss the cabbage, carrot and onion with the mayo or hung curd and lemon juice. Keep it in the fridge.
  3. Smash it onto the roti. Spread 2–3 tbsp keema over each roti in a thin layer, right to the edges, about 2–3 mm thick.
  4. Crisp it on the tawa. Heat a tawa over medium-high with a little butter. Lay a roti keema-side down and press with a spatula. Leave it for 3–4 minutes until the meat is deep brown and cooked through.
  5. Add cheese and fold. Flip, cook the roti side for 1 minute, add a tablespoon of cheese to one half and fold. Cook until the cheese melts.
  6. Stuff and serve. Open each taco, pack in the cold slaw and add a few mint or coriander leaves.

Tips for crispy smash tacos

  • Thin is the trick. A thin layer cooks through and crisps in the time it takes the roti to toast.
  • Don't move it. Let the keema sit undisturbed for the first 2 minutes so it forms a crust.
  • Only have boneless chicken? Pulse it in a chopper into a coarse keema.

Tandoori chicken tacos FAQs

What are smash tacos? Tacos where the meat is pressed thin straight onto the tortilla, here a roti, and cooked meat-side down so it crisps and fuses to the bread.

Can I use tortillas instead of rotis? Yes. Small 6–7 inch flour tortillas work exactly the same way.

Are they spicy? Tandoori Heritage is rich and smoky rather than fiery, and the slaw cools it further.

Can I prep ahead? Marinate the keema up to a day ahead in the fridge. Make the slaw just before cooking so it stays crunchy.

Ready to make them? Get Tandoori Heritage. Prefer whole pieces? Try our tandoori chicken without oven. Want another roll-up dinner? Make the Kerala chicken parotta roll.

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