This dish simply makes my mouth water. Chicken Tikka is basically chunks of chicken marinated in spices and yogurt. Traditionally, they are cooked in a clay oven called a Tandoor. But I simply cooked them on a griddle on my stove and it still came out delicious. This is a dish that makes me want to go back for seconds.
The key to getting this dish right is the marinating process. It's great if you can marinate for 24 hours or overnight. If you are in a rush, four hours will be okay. I marinated mine chicken for 24 hours and each bite was full of flavor. I used about 2lbs of of boneless thigh meat cut into 1 inch pieces. Alter the amounts used in the marinate if you use more or less meat. You can also use breast meat in the recipe.
The Marinate:2 inches of ginger peeled and grated
4-6 cloves of garlic
6 tbs of plain yogurt
2 tbs of tomato paste
1 tbs of gram masala
2 tbs of paprika
2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of salt (or to taste)
1 tsp of red chili powder
2 tbs of canola oil
Mix all the marinate together and then add the chicken. Mix well until all the ingredients coats the chicken. Marinate the meat in a ziploc bag or a bowl that you can seal.
When you are ready to cook your Chicken Tikka, take it out of the fridge for 15-30 minutes to get the chill off the meat. I skewered mine on wooden skewers here. Since I was cooking them on the stove top I didn't bother soaking the skewers and they were fine. If you decide to broil yours in the oven, I would suggest you soak the skewers in water for 20 minutes before skewering up the chicken.
I used a flat griddle to cook the tikkas. I oiled the griddle with about 1/2 tbs of oil and allowed it to get heated on high heat. I placed the skewers down and lowered the heat to med-high after about a minute. You want the chicken to cook on each side fully without burning the outside of the chicken.
You will want to stand there and baby-sit the chicken skewers. I did flip the skewers several times to make sure all the sides of the chicken got heated. Cook until the chicken is cooked through.
Serves 4-6 people. You can eat this with rice, salad or even inside pitas with some yogurt sauce. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
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