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–+ servings
Chicken tikka are little tandoori flavour bombs. Marinate the chicken, skewer and grill and you have a great starter to any Indian meals.
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4.67 from 21 votes

chicken tikka

Chicken tikka makes a great appetizer for an Indian meal. Serve it when you want an explosion of tandoori flavour in small bites. Make sure you soak your skewers before you assemble.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, tandoori marinade
Servings: 12
Calories: 174kcal

Ingredients

chicken tikka

  • 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • tandoori marinade recipe below
  • 1/2 lemon - juiced

Tandoori marinade

  • 1 Tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 Tbsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp madras curry powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp mint sauce (not mint jelly)
  • 2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp coriander stems/leaves chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 Tbsp Patak's tandoori marinade
  • 1 Tbsp garlic ginger paste
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water - you may need a little more. You are after a runny paste.

Instructions

  • Combine all the ingredients for the tandoori marinade in a stain proof bowl.
  • Cut each thigh into 4 pieces. Cut each breast, if using, into 8 pieces. Combine tandoori marinade with chicken. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
  • Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes.
  • Add the lemon juice to the chicken. Mix to combine. Let stand no more than one hour.
  • Light your grill. Build a two zone fire if using charcoal. Turn one burner to high and another to low if using gas.
  • Remove chicken from marinade. Use gloves if you have them. Tandoori marinade stains something fierce.
  • Skewer the chicken.
  • Grill over indirect heat until almost done - around 10-15 minutes. You want an internal temperature of about 150F for breasts or 160F for thighs at this point. You will be cooking them a bit more over direct heat. Your final target is 165F for breasts and 175F for thighs.
  • Move chicken skewers over direct (high) heat and grill an additional 2-4 minutes, turning every minute.. You want a bit of char but you don't want it to burn or dry out.

Notes

If you prefer chicken breasts substitute 6 chicken breasts for the thighs. White meat is more delicate so be extra vigilant when grilling. It dries out very easily.
You can add a bit of food colouring if you really want the restaurant look (like in these pictures). Just a pinch though. Don't go crazy. Orange is actually better than red for this. Or maybe a mix of orange and red. 

Nutrition

Serving: 6servings | Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 503mg | Potassium: 309mg | Vitamin A: 375IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1.6mg