Oven baked tandoori chicken tikka that taste as delicious as the ones made in tandoor! Learn the tips and tricks to make them easily with simple ingredients in your kitchen. You can also make these chicken tandoori skewers without an oven, on a pan.
Skip to the next step if using thighs or legs.Clean the chicken and dice into 1½ inch cubes. Mix in baking soda and keep aside for 20 minutes.
500 grams boneless chicken breasts or thighs, 2 teaspoons baking soda
Rinse a couple of times and drain the water completely. Use kitchen towels to wipe the chicken dry.
First marination
Add salt, pepper, ginger-garlic paste and lemon juice.
½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste, 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Mix and let it marinate for 10 minutes while you prepare the second marinade.
Tandoori marinade
Take Kashmiri chili powder in a small bowl. Heat mustard oil and add. Mix and let it cool.
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, 2 teaspoons mustard oil
Add all the ground spices and yogurt. Whisk everything together and add to the chicken. Mix well.
½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala, 2 tablespoons yogurt
Roast besan on a low flame for 3 to 5 minutes until you get a nutty aroma. Let it cool and add to the chicken. Mix and refrigerate.
2 teaspoons besan
Let it marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
"Smoked" tandoori chicken tikka (optional)
Break up the stick of cinnamon and heat the pieces on direct fire until they are red hot. Place in a small bowl inside the bowl of marinated chicken.
2 inch cinnamon stick
Quickly drizzle a spoon of oil or ghee to produce smoke and cover the bowl with a lid.
1 tablespoon ghee or melted butter
Let it smoke for about 10 minutes. (You can do this either before refrigerating and leave it in while marinating. Or do it 10 minutes before roasting.)
Assemble and bake
Preheat the oven to 230°C/446°F.
Thread the chicken cubes onto skewers. Place the skewers on a baking tray. Prop them on the edges of the tray in such a way that the chicken cubes don't touch the bottom of the tray.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes on “roast” setting.
Take out the tray and baste the chicken tikka with ghee/melted butter.
Change the oven setting to broil. Return the tray to the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
You can cook this tandoori chicken tikka on a grill pan or frying pan, too.
Marinate in the same way as above, but skip the besan. Thread the marinated cubes of chicken leaving a little gap between the pieces (not so close together as in the oven recipe).
Add a tablespoon of oil in the pan. Place the skewers and cook on high flame for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, until browned. KEEP BASTING the chicken with hot oil or melted butter while cooking.
Do you want the chicken tikka fry to be charred (restaurant-style)?Cook them on direct flame for about 2 to 3 minutes after removing from the pan. Keep turning the skewers to expose all the sides to the flame.
Video
Notes
Marinade: Add ½ teaspoon ground cumin or chaat masala for variation. (Chaat masala contains salt, so reduce salt accordingly.)
Chilli powder: I've used Kashmiri chilli powder for the color (it's not hot) and regular chili powder or cayenne pepper for the heat. You can skip the latter if you want to avoid the heat.
Roasted besan: You can try this recipe without besan too. It would tastes equally good with a slight difference in texture. You'll also get a brighter red tint on your tikka without besan!
Marinating time: Marinate the chicken for 8 hours or overnight for best results.
Assembling: Shake off the excess marinade when you thread the chicken onto the skewers. Discard the leftover marinade.
Skewers: If using metal, smear them with oil before threading the chicken. This will help remove the tikka with ease. If using wooden skewers, soak in water for about 20 minutes before using. This will prevent them from getting burnt.
For easy clean-up: Line the baking tray with parchment paper.