What comes to your mind whenever you hear the word “Tikka”. Well for me it’s that smokey flavor, grilled and charred meat pieces in vibrant red color sometimes green or white, a comfort food kind of thing. The dish originates in South Asia and is mainly popular in countries like India and Pakistan…and now it is categorized among the International cuisine. If you go to certain places in India, you will see the whole street dedicated to tikka.
It is traditionally prepared wherein small boneless pieces of chicken are grilled on a skewer and cooked in a hot clay oven called “tandoor” or sometimes even laid flat and cooked over a hot burning bed of charcoal. That’s how it gets that smokey flavor without which it is incomplete. Well, the spices are normally the same followed by most of the chefs and cooks except for slight changes and personal touch here and there. Sometimes you will find a colorful display of varieties of tikkas. Like if you see a green color tikka, then it obtains its color from herbs like spinach, coriander, mint etc. And if it is white in color then it has that rich and creamy flavor of cream and nuts. And the list goes on.
Chicken Tikka | Spicy Grilled Chicken
It is traditionally prepared wherein small boneless pieces of chicken are grilled on a skewer and cooked in a hot clay oven called “tandoor” or sometimes even laid flat and cooked over a hot burning bed of charcoal.
Ingredients
- 500 grams boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoon yogurt
- 1 piece of charcoal
- Ghee for basting
For Marinade ( Grind together to smooth paste)
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup fried onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon mustard paste
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek powder
- 1 teaspoon kasoori methi dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon roasted cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder Allspice powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- Pinch of black salt
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon yogurt
Instructions
- Wash the chicken pieces and pat them dry with help of a kitchen tissue. Put slight incisions on the chicken.
- Take the ground paste and add 2 tbsp of yogurt and mix well. Marinate the chicken pieces in it for about 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 250 deg. C.
- Also, keep a charcoal piece for burning on low flame. (burn it for 15 minutes)
- Take the bowl in which the chicken is marinating. Keep a small piece of foil and place a hot burning charcoal on it. Pour ghee over the charcoal and place a tight lid over the chicken for it to get fumigated. Don’t let the charcoal smoke escape through the lid. Leave the chicken in this way for about 30 minutes.
- Place the chicken pieces on a baking tray and grill in the oven close to the top flame for about 20 minutes. Slightly brush ghee over each piece and grill for another 5 minutes or till chicken is done.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala powder and serve hot.
If you have any queries regarding the recipe, do mention them in the comments section and I shall get back to you.
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