Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Chicken Tikka

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Chicken Tikka

We all love having BBQ every now and then, and Chicken Tikka is one of the most beloved chicken recipes in our home, and am sure it is in many of your homes too!
Servings 5 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 chicken around 1.2-1.5kg skin removed (cut into 4 or 8 pieces)
  • 2 heaped tsp tandoori masala if your tandoori masala is spicy, then use less and add a bit of red coloring to the marinade
  • 1 heaped tbsp. tomato paste/puree
  • 2 tsp. salt - if using a smaller chicken OR your tandoori powder is very salty reduce the salt by half a tsp.
  • 2 tsp. red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp. ginger paste
  • 1 tbsp. garlic paste
  • 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
  • juice of 2 limes approx. 4 tbsp
  • 4 tbsp. oil
  • red or orange food colouring

Instructions
 

  • Combine all the ingredients (aside from the chicken) and mix until smooth. Taste and adjust if needed.
    Make 2-3 deep slits on each piece of chicken, then slather the pieces with the marinade. The slitting ensures that the flavor from the marinade goes all the way into the chicken, and also helps with quick and even cooking. Refrigerate covered preferably overnight for best results, but even up to 4-6 hours is ok. I sometimes marinate for up to 2 days in the fridge for even better results.
    BBQ this on a grill over hot coals, using low heat to ensure the chicken is cooked through. Make sure you oil the grill so that the chicken doesn’t stick, and turn the pieces over every few minutes to get all sides equally done. Alternatively you can grill these in an oven under a hot broiler/grill at around 200 C for about 25-30 minutes per side or until chicken is done. Similarly, turn them over once or twice on the oven tray so all sides are equally done. Of course, this tastes a LOT better done over coals, so if you have the option, use the bbq grill for best results!
  • While the chicken is cooking, put the leftover marinade in a pan, add a cup of water to it and simmer it over low heat until it thickens and is cooked through. Adjust salt if needed. This can then be drizzled over your chicken when serving. Keep the chicken wrapped in foil until time of serving to retain heat and moisture.
    Serve hot with salad, fries, cold drinks, raita, chutneys, naan…whatever you prefer!
    Enjoy! 🙂

Notes

For oven-grilled chicken, you can then ‘smoke’ the chicken with a lit coal and a drop of oil to give it a bbq aroma.

Join the Conversation

    1. W/Salaam, you can use tikka masala or red food colouring although you will miss some of the awesome flavour that tandoori masala has. 🙂

    1. I know that some people do that, but then I find it difficult to get rid of that smell from the oven later especially if you plan on baking cakes etc in the same oven. Best to do it outside the oven once the tikka is done.

  1. Happy New Year!!! Thanks for this lovely and easy recepie. I made this for New Year’s day lunch. Turned out yummy.

  2. Is tandoori masala available
    Is tandoori masala available in stores or should I make it myself?

  3. When you say can grill in
    When you say can grill in oven at 200deg do you mean I can bake it or grill under 200degin my oven
    My oven grill gets very hot at. Minimum of 50degrees, please advise.

    1. I normally set the temp at
      I normally set the temp at 200 C which turns on the grill of my oven, then I bake them directly under the hot grill. Not sure about your oven but if the grill operates separately then turn it on and use. 50 degrees is a very low temp for such a high heat, maybe your oven settings are off?

      1. thanks dear plz give a idea
        thanks dear plz give a idea how to do it on gas top without BBQ grill

  4. If the marination has become
    If the marination has become spicy can u please suggest any measure to reduce the spice??

    1. Hi, yes you can although be
      Hi, yes you can although be careful as it tends to be very spicy and salty so reduce the salt and chilli from the recipe.

  5. Aswk. My oven has many
    Aswk. My oven has many function on d knob
    Lik grill.warm.toast n bake.doed it mean
    Tht my grill operates separetly.
    Or shud I lik u heat f grill n den use bake
    Mode.plz advise

    Thnkd
    A.H

    1. Is that a microwave oven? If
      Is that a microwave oven? If so then I do not have any experience with them as I do not cook or bake using a microwave. Please check the manual it came with to understand how to use it.

  6. Fauzia jazak Allah for this
    Fauzia jazak Allah for this lovely site and recipes. in chicken tikka, can i just boil the chicken in a pot and do coal dum as i cant bbq and oven grill is not too good.

  7. Aoa..
    Aoa..
    The oven i have only lets me switch on one at a time either the grill on top or at the bottom.
    While making chicken tikka should i use the top or the bottom burner.
    Also wanna make the almond cake..for baking which burner should i use??

    1. About the grills that need to
      About the grills that need to be switched on, my oven works differently (I don’t have to switch on various rods at any time) but I believe for ovens like what you are using, start with the bottom one and then midway turn on the top. Accordingly see how the results are and adjust. However when grilling meats like tikka and so on, I believe using the top one is a better idea. 🙂

  8. Sorry to bother again i jx
    Sorry to bother again i jx dont want to make a mistake while making them..making it for an occasion ..i didnt get the part ‘under a hot broiler’…n also how do you smoke chicken with coal..do i place it over the prepared chicken n then drop o bit oil on coal?
    Sorry if it sounds stupid.new at this cooking thing;)

    1. Turn on the top grill of the
      Turn on the top grill of the oven (that’s the broiler) and then place the chicken under it. And yes about the coal. 🙂

  9. Asalamualikum ,Fauzia ..i am
    Asalamualikum ,Fauzia ..i am a big fan of yours , your recipes are delicious , Thanks a lot for sharing your wonderful recipes. i am planning to make this chicken tikka on my daughter’s birthday. i have tried chicken tikka recipe before but whenever i baked it in oven it left so much water in the tray. i usually bake chicken for 10-15 minutes and then grill it for 5-10 minutes. can you please identify my mistake ? should i only grill it?

    1. W/Salaam, ensure the oven is
      W/Salaam, ensure the oven is VERY HOT when you put the chicken in so that the outside is sealed immediately to prevent all the moisture from leaking out and drying up the chicken. Once the outside is firm, you can then lower the heat and bake until cooked through.

  10. salaam sister.i need to make
    salaam sister.i need to make this recipe using boneless chicken for around 50 people,how much chicken will b required.

    1. W/Salaam, normally 1kg
      W/Salaam, normally 1kg boneless serves around 5 people. You can multiply accordingly. 🙂

  11. I made this recipe today,
    I made this recipe today, absolutely delicous. Thank u so much fauzia. May Allah reward you and grant u success in this life and in hereafter.

  12. Salam fuzia,
    Salam fuzia,
    Which tandoori masala do u use and does adding tomatoe puree makes adifference to its taste.
    Tc Regards
    Rozina

    1. W/Salaam, I use Natco
      W/Salaam, I use Natco tandoori powder. And yes the tomato puree/paste does make a difference to the taste and also the colour and thickness of the leftover marinade which will be cooked to form the sauce.

  13. Can u suggest how much
    Can u suggest how much cooking time on grill pan perside as it is with bones and i have never grillled chikn with
    bone

    1. Depends on the thickness and
      Depends on the thickness and size of the pieces, about 10-15 minutes turning the piece over every after a few minutes, then test to see that it is fully cooked through.

  14. Salamw
    Salamw
    I tried this recipe with leg pieces, tried it on grill pan on the stove. It took me so lomg to tender the chicken. Should i boil the chicken before marination or marinate and cook for some time in pot? (A suggestiom by my friend) as leg pieces takes longer to tender.(i live in uk and it takes longer to tender meat.
    Jazak Allah

    1. W/Salaam, I wouldn’t suggest
      W/Salaam, I wouldn’t suggest pre boiling the chicken as that changes the flavour somewhat so that it doesn’t feel like bbq chicken anymore. You can try the cooking in a pot method for a bit before finally grilling the pieces.

  15. Hey fauzia!
    Hey fauzia!
    Is it okay if i dont use tomato paste?

    & if its compulsary have you got any subsitute for it?
    Running out of tomato paste and i need to make the marinade

    Thanks x

    1. Hi, yes it is fine to omit
      Hi, yes it is fine to omit the tomato paste although it does add a nice colour to the tikka and also helps thicken the marinade which will later be cooked to form a nice sauce to go with the chicken.

  16. assalamo alikum fauzia
    assalamo alikum fauzia
    do u hv recipe spicy( murg mussalam ) or the other name is (charga )..

  17. OMG!!! This was extremely
    OMG!!! This was extremely yummylicious liked by everyone!! Tried it yesterday thankk you!! Turned out amazingggg!

  18. Hello Fauzia,
    Hello Fauzia,
    I prepared the marinade as per instructions but for some reason when I taste it,it’s bitter?What can I do to overcome bitterness?please advise

    1. Hi, that is strange as there
      Hi, that is strange as there is nothing bitter used in the ingredients list. Did you add anything extra? Or maybe you used a tandoori masala that has lemon rind in it?

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