Chicken Tikka Recipe
Chicken Tikka Recipe
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Product Recipes
Cuisine
Indian
Servings
4
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
This is the chicken most takeaway curries actually start with.
In a restaurant the meat isn’t cooked in the sauce. It’s marinated, cooked hot, then added to the curry at the end. That’s why the flavour runs through the chicken instead of just sitting on the outside.
Once you’ve made a batch you can drop it straight into dishes like our favourites such as our Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe or Chicken Korma Recipe. It also works on its own as a starter or wrap filling.
Cook this and you’ve got the base for loads of fakeaways during the week.
To make this recipe you’ll need my tikka spice blend, it’s what gives the proper curry house flavour. We also sell it as a bundle, with red food colouring to give it that bright red look.
Why cook the tikka first if it's going in a curry?
Curry houses always prepare tikka ahead of service and is mostly a service based decision. The sauce reheats the chicken, it doesn’t cook it.
That’s what gives you that takeaway texture and slight char.
If raw chicken goes straight into sauce you may end up boiling it.
You can add this directly into a pan of Masala sauce and dinner is basically done.
Storage once cooked
Fridge: up to 3 days
Freezer: about 3 months
If reheating from frozen, it's best to air fry or grill the chicken tikka pieces to maintain the same flavour and quality. You can microwave them but it may make the meat a bit dry. Batch cooking this once saves loads of time later.
What is the difference between chicken tikka and tandoori chicken?
In most curry houses the difference between chicken tikka and tandoori chicken isn’t really the marinade or the colour, it’s the cut of the meat. This is my understanding of it and it does differ from region to region. Some say it purely depends on the colour!
My understanding in the West Midlands has always been that tandoori chicken is cooked on the bone, usually whole legs or quarters, which keeps it juicier and gives a deeper roasted flavour. Chicken tikka is the same style of marinade but boneless pieces, cooked faster and used as a starter or dropped into curries.
More takeaway recipes
If you make this chicken tikka then you’ll have to try these recipes too:
Matt Cooper Bites
Ingredients
-
4 tbsp Matt Cooper Bites Tikka Spice Blend
-
4 tbsp full fat yoghurt greek or natural
-
700 g chicken thigh or breast
-
0.5 tsp red food colouring optional
-
2 tbsp water
Directions
Chop your chicken thighs or breasts into chunks and add into a mixing bowl
In a bowl, combine 4tbsp of Matt Cooper Bites Tikka Spice Blend with 4tbsp of yoghurt. This is your marinade and should be thick enough to coat all of your chicken. Take 0.5 tsp of food colouring with 2 tbsp of water, add to the marinade and mix.
Add your marinade into the mixing bowl with the chopped chicken in and mix well, ensuring all the chicken is marinated. For best results, cover the chicken and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. The minimum time I would let the chicken marinade for is 2 hours.
Air Frying
Cook for 15 minutes on 200℃ - turning halfway.
Grilling
Once your chicken has marinaded, skewer your chicken using kebab skewers, making sure there is space in between each piece. This is to ensure the chicken is cooked thoroughly and to achieve that delicious charring on the edges.
Pre-heat your grill to it's maximum heat and once it's reached it's temperature, place your chicken tikka skewers under the grill for 20-25 minutes. Turn the skewers every 5 minutes.
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