Chicken Tikka Kabab

Chicken Tikka Kabab – aromatic succulent pieces of grilled chicken that melts in your mouth. Delicious and juicy Chicken tikka kebab is made by marinating boneless chicken pieces in yogurt and spices. It is a great starter or appetizer for lunch or dinner.

CHICKEN TIKKA KABAB RECIPE 

Chicken tikka kebabs are delicious and tasty if Murg (Chicken) Tikka is marinated well. Ideally tikka (pieces) should be marinated and kept in refrigerator for at least two hour or overnight. Longer, overnight marination let the flavors seep in the chicken pieces for richer taste. Good marination gives the tikka an intense and deep flavor and makes the meat tender and juicy.

Traditionally boneless chicken cubes are marinated in a mix of yogurt and fresh spices and later baked using skewers in a cylindrical clay oven called a tandoor at high temperatures until charred and tender. At home, mostly murg tikka kabab is made in conventional oven or grill or it can also be cooked in a pan on stove top.

Chicken Tikka Kebab is one of the most popular chicken dish in Indian cuisine and is a very popular starter across the world. Tikka means a cube or pieces or chunks. Chicken Tikka can also be made into Chicken Tikka Masala , a tasty gravy dish.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING CHICKEN TIKKA KABAB

FIRST MARINADE

1. Chicken breast – 250gm
2. Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
3. Pepper Powder – ¼ tsp
4. Salt – ½ tsp

SECOND MARINADE

1. Yoghurt – 2 tbsp (hung curd)
2. Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tsp (1 tsp each) (Or Ginger Garlic Powder ½ tsp – ¼ tsp each)
3. Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
4. Coriander powder 1.5 tsp
5. Turmeric Powder – 1/8 tsp
6. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
7. Garam Masala – ¼ tsp
8. Kasuri Methi – ¼ tsp
9. Tandoori Masala – ½ tsp (optional)
10. Orange food Colour – 3-4 drops (optional)
11. Oil or Melted Butter – 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp for drizzling

METHOD : HOW TO COOK CHICKEN TIKKA KABAB

1. PREPARING CHICKEN : Cut the chicken into small bite size pieces. Clean and wash chicken pieces thoroughly. With a kitchen napkin or paper kitchen towel, pat dry the pieces to remove excess of moisture in it.
2. FIRST MARINADE :  Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, pepper powder and lemon juice. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.
3. SECOND MARINADE : Add hung curd, ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, tandoori masala, garama masala, kasuri methi, 1 tbsp oil and food colour and mix well. Marinate chicken with this marinade and refrigerate overnight covered with cling wrap or a minimum of 2-3 Hours.
4. GRILLING THE CHICKEN : Take the marinated chicken from refrigerator and keep outside for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200˚C in a grill or broil mode for 10 minutes. On a baking pan, place an aluminum foil sheet. Take the skewer rods and insert the chicken pieces. Keep it on the middle rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes. Takeout the chicken pieces from the oven, once you see small brown spots over the chicken pieces. Drizzle the remaining marinade on them and drizzle or spray little melted ghee or melted butter or olive oil over the chicken pieces. Once it is done, turn over the skewer rods and drizzle the remaining marinade and melted ghee or melted butter. Keep it in oven and grill for another 10 minutes until the juices run clear and there are little brown spots on the chicken cubes. Once done, take out from the oven. Drizzle with butter and loosely cover and keep aside for 5 minutes. Serve the hot kababs with mint coriander yogurt chutney.

GUTTANS TIPS

• HUNG CURD : Hung Curd is made by draining the liquid whey from fresh yoghurt. To get thick creamy curd, place a colander or sieve over a container or bowl. Line the colander with a thin muslin cloth. (If it is nylon sieve which has a very fine mesh, then no need to line it.) Now place the curd in it and place the whole thing in the fridge for 4 to 5 hours or overnight. Let it drain till all the extra liquid had drained out and just a thick mass of creamy curd remains. Usually, ¼ cup (4tbsp) of normal strained curd yields approximately 2 tbsp hung curd.
• TANDOORI MASALA: It is optional to use tandoori masala. It can also be replaced with any chicken masala. This recipe used Everest Brand Tandoori Masala.
• GARAM MASALA : Garam masala used in this recipe is typical north Indian garam masala. Use either Everest or MDH brand masala.
• MARINATION : This can be kept in fridge overnight or for a minimum of 2 hours. Chicken marinated overnight is much juicer, flavourful and aromatic.
• DRIZZLING : Drizzling with the leftover marinade and melted pure ghee or melted butter or olive oil keeps the chicken kebabs juicy and tender.
• TIME AND QUANTITY : Chicken tikka kababs in this recipe can be cooked for 20 minutes in grill or broil setting in the oven. This Murg Tikka kebab is tried in grill mode and broil mode in different ovens. Grill mode was made in 18 minutes and broil mode in 20 minutes. All oven temperatures vary and so the cooking time too. Check the doneness in between as each oven setting is different.
• MEASURING TOOLS USED :  240 ml cup, 15 ml tablespoon and 5 ml teaspoon.