How to make tandoori style salmon in an air fryer
- Preheat air fryer
- Place salmon in fryer basket skin side down
- Cook at 400F for 10 minutes
- Gently shake salmon after 90 seconds to prevent skin sticking
- After 5 minutes, gently flip the salmon
- Cook for 3 minutes skin side up
- Flip once more, cook until salmon flakes
This recipe is based of using the COSORI Air Fryer (5.8QT model, affiliate link).
You can use this deliciously seasoned and juicy fish as the centerpiece to create a fabulous Indian dinner:
Cooking notes
In the above recipe I am using fresh Atlantic King salmon filets that are a a couple inches thick at their centre point.
The key to this recipe is the hot and fast cooking. The high temperature will lock in the salmon’s flavor, leaving you with perfectly flaky fish and a slight char on the exterior.
As ever, please use caution and safety when cooking raw meats. Always ensure your chicken is thoroughly cooked and to temp!
How to make tandoori marinade
To make the above air fried tandoori salmon you will first need to marinate your fish. The ideal time is 4-6 hours in the refrigerator.
This isn’t a recipe where more is necessarily better. Be careful of marinating for extended periods as the salmon will start to break down. To make the marinade mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:
- 4 tbsp plain greek yogurt
- 4 cloves grated garlic
- 1 inch grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
For hot sauce, I used Nando’s Peri-Peri XX Hot sauce, as I find the flavor profile is similar to Indian lime pickle. You can replace with your hot sauce of choice, a tsp of cayenne pepper, or omit entirely.
Once you’ve mixed all these items together into a deep orange hued and thick sauce, transfer to a gallon freezer bag. Add salmon filets very gently to bag. You can then work the marinade all over the salmon very carefully, with little mess.
When ready to cook, I add the marinated salmon directly to the air fryer, I don’t bother to remove too much marinade if any. Lastly, note that I didn’t use any food coloring in the recipe. The vibrant golden yellow color comes mostly from turmeric; I don’t like to add food coloring to my food personally.
This website and all recipes are presented as a reference only. Many variables may influence your own cooking times. Read this info on using our recipes.
Please scroll to the bottom of the page if you'd like to comment on this recipe, suggest an improvement or otherwise. You can also join our Facebook Air Frying group to talk to other like minded air frying enthusiasts!