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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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4.75 from 43 votes

chicken tikka

Chicken tikka makes a great appetizer for an Indian meal or as an extra flavour boost in your curries.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
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 (optional)
  • 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