Chicken Tikka

Ingredients

Chicken

• 800 gboneless chicken thigh, in 4 cm pieces

First marinade

• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbspginger garlic paste
• 1 tspKashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tspsalt

Second marinade

• 250 gthick yoghurt, hung
• 1 tbspginger garlic paste
• 2 tspKashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tspgaram masala
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• ½ tspturmeric
• 1 tspkasuri methi
• 2 tbspmustard oil
• 1 tbspgram flour, optional
• salt

To cook

• melted butter, for basting
• metal skewers

To serve

• naan
• mint chutney
• sliced onion with lemon
• chaat masala

Directions

1. Use boneless thigh rather than breast. Thigh has enough fat to survive fierce heat and stay juicy, where breast dries into something stringy within a minute of overcooking. Cut it into pieces of about four centimetres, evenly sized so they cook at the same rate.
2. Rub the lemon, ginger garlic paste, chilli and salt into the chicken and leave it thirty minutes. Doing this before the yoghurt goes on lets the salt and acid reach the meat, since a yoghurt coating would otherwise sit between them.
3. Hang the yoghurt in muslin for a few hours to drain off the whey. Thin yoghurt runs off the chicken and, worse, releases water in the oven so the meat steams instead of charring.
4. Mix the hung yoghurt with the ginger garlic paste, all the ground spices and the cooled oil. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms as it goes in, which releases far more aroma. Now the colour, which is worth being clear about.
5. Coat the chicken and marinate it for at least six hours, and overnight is better. Do not marinate beyond about twenty-four hours, since the acid eventually turns the surface mushy. Thread the pieces onto metal skewers, leaving a small gap between each. Now cook them over charcoal if you possibly can, or under the fiercest grill you have.
6. Set the skewers over glowing embers rather than flames and turn them every couple of minutes. Grill them for ten to twelve minutes until charred in patches and just cooked through. Baste with melted butter partway through and again at the end.
7. Take them off while they are still juicy, since small boneless pieces overcook in moments. Cut into one to check rather than guessing. Now rest them for two minutes and squeeze lemon over. Dust with chaat masala, which is what lifts the whole thing at the table. Serve with naan, mint chutney and raw onion rings soaked in vinegar.

Technique

• Tikka is boneless and tandoori chicken is bone-in, and the marinade is broadly the same.
• Chicken tikka masala is a separate dish with a contested Glasgow origin story.
• Kashmiri chilli gives colour without much heat.

Substitutions

• Chicken breast, accepting a drier result.
• Greek yoghurt drained further, in place of hung yoghurt.

Variations

• Made with paneer, as paneer tikka.
• Cooked over charcoal, which is much closer to a tandoor.
• Made into chicken tikka masala with a tomato cream sauce.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chicken Tikka?

Chicken Tikka is a main from Pakistan: yoghurt-marinated chicken pieces charred in a tandoor, served with naan and chutney.

How long does Chicken Tikka take to make?

Chicken Tikka takes 30 min plus 6 hr marinating of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chicken Tikka?

Yes, within limits. Chicken breast, accepting a drier result. Greek yoghurt drained further, in place of hung yoghurt.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chicken Tikka?

Use boneless thigh rather than breast. Thigh has enough fat to survive fierce heat and stay juicy, where breast dries into something stringy within a minute of overcooking. Cut it into pieces of about four centimetres, evenly sized so they cook at the same rate.