A recipe that will keep your chicken breasts moist, tastes delicious served with salad as a starter or as a main meal.

Tandoori chicken has to be without a doubt one of the most loved Indian dishes. It is popular in the Indian subcontinent and famous the world over. Every household has their own technique and this is just one of the many ways I cook this dish. Chicken Tikka is essentially tandoori chicken, the principle difference being the cut of meat; Chicken Tikka uses smaller boneless chicken pieces, whereas tandoori chicken comes on the bone. Traditionally Chicken Tikka is cooked in a tandoor oven but since not all of us own clay ovens, we shall try to imitate the cooking results of a tandoor oven using a grill and skewers. My children love to eat this as a starter to their main meal and sometimes I make a main meal out of it too by adding salad, yoghurt/mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce and serving in a wrap or pitta bread.

I don’t often use chicken breasts to cook curries, so when I buy whole chickens I tend to separate the breasts from the boned parts of the chicken ie. thigh, drumsticks, wings etc. This way I can use the breasts for dishes like this or for Chicken Pakoras, chicken coronation or chicken pie; recipes which call for more substantial meaty cuts of chicken. When I prepare the breasts in this way I find it doesn’t go to waste and everything gets eaten. I’ve used natural yoghurt in this recipe but you can always opt for a Greek yoghurt if that’s what you have at home. You could always try to add other spices/flavours to this too if you wanted to experiment; try methi (fenugreek) leaves, lime juice instead of lemon, chilli pickle or even a pinch of garam masala. I love this recipe just the way it is and hope it becomes a staple in your household too.

You will need: for Chicken Tikka

Diced chicken breast (approx 600-800g, keep pieces fairly large)
1/2 pot of natural yoghurt
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp chilli powder
4 tsp dry tandoori powder (I use Rajah brand)
red and yellow/orange food colouring
additional salt if needed

Method:

Wash and drain your chicken pieces. Add half a pot of yoghurt to a clean bowl, then add 1 tsp of crushed ginger and 1 tsp garlic.

Add 1 large tbsp of lemon juice (the acidity helps to make the meat tender), 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 4 tsp of tandoori powder. If you are using a paste, I would use the same amount ie. 4 tsp of tandoori paste.

Add 1/4 tsp of red food colouring and a little yellow/orange colouring too, if you want a deep red colour you may use 1/2 tsp. Stir all the ingredients thoroughly. Taste your marinade and add extra salt if you feel you need it, I didn’t add any but it really depends on what powder/paste you’re using.

Add your diced chicken breasts, coat all the pieces thoroughly and leave to marinate for as long as possible, preferably overnight (this was what I did). The chicken will take on all the flavours the longer it’s been left to marinate.

You can cook the chicken tikka in the oven, on the stove top (but this requires more oil and is best avoided if possible) or under the grill. I prefer grilling as I find it results it the look and smell of tandoori chicken cooked in a tandoor oven, it has that charred effect.

I’ve threaded the chicken breasts onto metal skewers and placed under my grill. Add any leftover marinade on top of the chicken skewers, this will just cook over the chicken, don’t throw it away! Let the chicken really brown, even ‘burn’ slightly in some places and then rotate and do the same to the underside.

Once both sides were cooked, I removed the chicken from skewers and let it brown some more to allow parts that the grill didn’t reach to cook thoroughly. This process can take between 20 – 30 minutes depending on how low/high the grill flame is.

Lastly add some chopped coriander to garnish (optional). I’ve used frozen here; it’s fine as long as you return to the grill and cook it through immediately, otherwise stick to fresh coriander.

Enjoy your Chicken Tikka with salad or in pitta bread/tortilla wrap for a more substantial meal! Serve with a yoghurt mint sauce if you don’t like it dry.

Bon Appétit!

If you like the recipe please share with friends and family, also follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Questions? Leave a comment below or message me on Facebook.