Chicken roasted in tandoor-like ovens is documented in the Harappan civilization of the Bronze Age of Indian subcontinent, as early as 3000 BC.

[13][14][15][16][17][18] Much later, the Sushruta Samhita records meat being cooked in an oven (kandu) after being seasoned with black mustard (rai) powder and fragrant spices.

[1][2][3][4][25] They used to work at a small eatery called Moti Mahal, owned by a man named Mokha Singh Lamba in Peshawar, British India, from the 1920s to 1947.

[33] Raw chicken parts are skinned then marinated in a mixture of dahi (yogurt) and tandoori masala, a spice blend.

[a] The marinated chicken is placed on skewers and cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor oven, which is heated with charcoal or wood, which adds to the smoky flavour.