This Tandoori Shrimp recipe is quick, flavorful, and perfect to make in the air fryer, oven, or grill. Juicy shrimp are marinated in a spiced yogurt mixture and cooked until lightly charred and delicious. It’s a great appetizer or main dish that comes together in under 30 minutes!

ready to east tandoori shrimp in skewers

If you are looking for a simple yet flavorful Indian shrimp appetizer, make this tandoori shrimp (prawns tikka) and wow your guests!

This is one of my favorites when dining at an Indian restaurant. Because it is so simple to prepare, adding this dish to your weeknight meals is practically as simple as ordering takeout.

This Tandoori shrimp recipe is marinated in yogurt and flavorful spices and then grilled to perfection. The best part about making this dish at home is that you can control the quality of the prawns and how they are cleaned.

And if you love shrimp, you must definitely try this Shrimp Masala and Coconut Shrimp Curry recipe!

What is Tandoori Shrimp?
Why Make Tandoori Prawns?
Ingredients
What Shrimp Should You Use?
Pro-Tips
What Do I Serve With Tandoori Shrimp?
More Indian Appetizers To Try
Tandoori Shrimp (Prawns Tikka) Recipe

What is Tandoori Shrimp?

Tandoori shrimp is an Indian-style shrimp or prawn appetizer recipe marinated in a tandoori masala. It can be cooked in an air fryer, outdoor grill, or oven. You can also make it in a grill pan.

These prawns are spicy, crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and bursting with a charred and tangy flavor, which will definitely make you fight over the last piece 🙂

ready to serve air fried tandoori shrimp

Tandoori is an Indian cooking style that uses a tandoor, a traditional clay oven that uses a coal fire. Nowadays, electrical tandoors are also available. Proteins are marinated in a mixture of yogurt and aromatic spices before being grilled/ roasted in this tandoor.

Here are some of my tandoori recipes – Tandoori Chicken, Tandoori Aloo, Tandoori Mushroom, and Tandoori Gobi.

Have you tried my Indian Chicken marinade yet? It adds a hint of spice and earthiness to any protein or vegetable of your choice!

Why Make Tandoori Prawns?

Apart from just being delicious, there are plenty of reasons to make this fantastic appetizer:

Simple and easy recipe
Requires very little cooking time
Requires easily available ingredients
Can be served as an appetizer or main dish
Perfect for BBQs, game nights, and potlucks

Ingredients

To make this delish recipe, you just need a few ingredients.

Shrimp / Prawns: I prefer jumbo shrimp or prawns. You can use fresh or frozen.
Oil: You can use any oil you like, but remember to use one with a high smoking point. I like to use avocado oil.
Chaat masala: This is optional, but I suggest you sprinkle some chaat masala for the ‘wow’ factor. This tangy spice blend is easily available at the Indian grocery store or on Amazon.
Cilantro Leaves: Fresh cilantro leaves add color and a burst of flavor.
Lime wedges: Sprinkle some fresh lime flavor on the final dish.

For The Tandoori Marinade:

Yogurt: Use thick, full-fat, plain yogurt. You can also use Greek yogurt or hung curd (strained yogurt by hanging and draining the excess water).
Ginger and Garlic: I use freshly minced ginger and garlic. You can also use ginger-garlic paste if you prefer. You can find it in the Indian grocery stores or make it at home.
Lime juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is ideal for the most flavor.
Spices: Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and salt are just a few spices needed. These are readily available at the Indian grocery store.

What Shrimp Should You Use?

Choosing the correct type of seafood can be tricky. Personally, I love larger shrimp/prawns, so I purchase jumbo-size prawns (21-25 shrimp/ pound).

You can use fresh or frozen shrimp, whichever you can find easily. I usually get mine at Costco. The frozen ones are cleaned, and it is preferable to just keep them handy in my freezer, thaw and cook them whenever I want!

To thaw the frozen shrimp, I place them in a bowl or pot of cold tap water and run the water gently for 5 minutes. When the shrimp has thawed, I pat it dry with a napkin. You can also just keep the frozen shrimp in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.

You can also use small to medium-sized fresh shrimp. They require peeling and deveining, though. Make sure to use fresh shrimp as soon as possible before they go bad.

Pro-Tips

Do not overcook: For best results, cook the shrimp only until done. This will result in soft, juicy, and tender shrimp tikka.

Skewers: I used bamboo skewers, which I soaked in water for 30 minutes, and broke them into a smaller size so they would fit in the air fryer or in the crisplid basket.

If you don’t have skewers, you can also make tandoori shrimp without skewers. Just spread the shrimp in a single layer in the air fryer basket.

Storage: Any leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight glass container for about two days. They can then be reheated in the oven or air fryer.

Tandoori shrimp in skewers with lime and onion on side

What Do I Serve With Tandoori Shrimp?

To be honest, Tandoori shrimp tastes good on its own. But you can serve it with mint cilantro chutney or with this amazing creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce. This is perfect for patio barbeque along with your other favorites.

You can also serve a salad on the side. Indian Onion Salad and Kachumber salad pair well with this Tandoori shrimp.

It tastes excellent when served as a side with vegetable biryani or with this lemon asparagus pasta.

For a quick and wholesome dinner, arrange your shrimp skewers over a bed of brown rice or basmati rice and serve with a side of steamed or grilled vegetables.