🍢 Chicken tikka
Chicken tikka is boneless chicken pieces marinated in yogurt, garlic, cumin, turmeric and chilli, then grilled or roasted in a tandoor until charred and smoky. The yogurt makes the meat tender and the spices give it a deep orange colour. It is served as a starter with sliced onion, lemon wedges and green chutney.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 700 g boneless chicken thighs or breast, in chunks
- 150 g plain yogurt
- 3 garlic cloves and 2 cm ginger, grated
- 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala
- Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp oil, salt
- Sliced onion and lemon wedges to serve
Method
- Mix yogurt, garlic, ginger, spices, lemon, oil and salt; coat the chicken and marinate for 2–6 hours in the fridge.
- Thread onto skewers or spread on a rack over a tray.
- Grill or roast at 240 °C for 12–15 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges.
- Serve with onion and lemon wedges.
How to make it lighter
- Chicken breast gives the leanest tikka; thighs are juicier but richer.
- Serve with salad and a mint-yogurt dip instead of creamy sauces.
- As a starter, keep to around 150–200 g if a main course follows.
History
Tikka means "pieces" or "bits", and the dish comes from the tandoor cooking of Punjab, shared by northern India and Pakistan. It spread worldwide with Indian restaurants in the second half of the 20th century.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →