Chicken Tikka

Chicken Tikka in India is like Kangaroo in Australia, they live in each other. But this 'Kangaroo' is now spreading fast across the globe like a wild-fire, courtesy our love for this dish. And with a fan following of that magnitude this dish perfectly deserves to be my first non-veg recipe on "ShwetaintheKitchen". Yaaaaaaaaay to all my chicken lover friends out there !! 

Chicken Tikka is boneless chicken pieces marinated in yogurt & spices and then cooked in tandoor (cylindrical clay oven). But since I don't have a tandoor I opted to cook it in my oven. You could also use convection microwave or simply shallow fry these. They taste great by all cooking methods. 

The key to any Tikka (which means pieces) is marination. Ideally you should marinate it atleast for 1 hour but I like to marinate my chicken tikka overnight in refrigerator. Also you could keep this marinated chicken in refrigerator for 1-2 days & it should stay good. 

Ingredients: 
250gms boneless chicken pieces (cubed)
1/4 cup hung curd (1/2 cup of normal curd when strained will yeild approximately 1/4 cup hung curd)
1 tsp of ginger paste
1 tsp of garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seed powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp tandoori masala (available at Indian/Asian grocery stores) 
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)
Drop of red food color (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
Baking Tray & aluminium sheet
Butter (as required)

Method: 

• Wash & clean the boneless chicken thoroughly. Pat dry the chicken. 
• Rub some salt, pepper & lemon juice to the chicken & keep it for 15 mins. 
• Then add the hung curd, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, cumin seed powder, coriander powder, tandoori masala, garam masala & red food color & mix well. 
• Cover with lid or plastic wrap & refrigerate overnight (or for 1-2 hours minimum). 

• When ready to serve, preheat oven to 400F.
• Line the baking sheet with aluminium foil & apply some butter on it to prevent the tikka from sticking. 
• Arrange the chicken pieces at uniform distance (not too close to each other). Bake for 20-30 mins. 
• On 10 min mark, apply some butter to the tikka & flip. Apply some butter to the flipped side too & let it bake. 
• On 20 mins mark, check if the chicken is cooked & soft, if not bake for more 5-10 mins by applying some butter & flipping the tikka after every 5 mins. 

That's it,  our chicken tikka is ready,Serve hot garnished with some lemon slices, onions & green chutney!!

Happy Cooking!!
Shweta

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