Tandoori Chicken Tikka (Murgh Tikka)

Tandoori Chicken Tikka (Murgh Tikka) is a popular North Indian starter, where boneless chicken pieces are coated with a spicy marinade and then grilled to perfection. This authentic snack recipe is great to make for parties or get-togethers. Use my simple recipe to make it in an oven, stovetop, air fryer, or outdoor grill (gluten-free).

Here are some more appetizer recipes: Achari Paneer Tikka, Tandoori Chicken, and Veg Tikka Masala.

Jump to:

• About Chicken Tikka
• Why Make Chicken Tikka At Home
• Ingredients
• How To Make Chicken Tikka
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Pro Tips By Neha
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• You Might Also Like
• Recipe Card

About Chicken Tikka

Tandoori Chicken Tikka ( Murgh Tikka) is a popular North Indian appetizer where boneless chicken pieces are marined with a spicy marinade and then grilled until nicely cooked and slightly charred.

Tikka came from the Turkish word ‘Tike,’ which means ‘Pieces.’

This Indian chicken snack recipe is everyone’s favorite and is a part of the menu of mostly every Indian restaurant all over the world.

The chicken tikka was traditionally made in a clay oven called ‘Tandoor.’ But you can make it in an oven, microwave, air fryer, or outdoor grill.

The recipe to make murgh tikka varies from person to person. In this post, I am sharing my tried and tested formula, which I have been making for years.

I have mentioned many small details that will take your dish from average to outstanding.

For starters, my recipe calls for double marination.

The first marination makes the chicken pieces juicy and tenderizes the meat without using any chemical tenderizer. The second marination gives them the perfect taste and flavor.

This chicken tikka recipe is gluten-free and can be easily doubled or tripled.

Why Make Chicken Tikka At Home

This dish is readily available in restaurants, so we must wonder why to make it at home. Here are some of the reasons why I prefer making it at home

1. You can use the best quality ingredients to make it. When you get it from a restaurant, you cannot be sure of the quality of the chicken and the spices used.
2. Homemade tastes much better.
3. It is much more economical to make it at home.
4. Homemade tikka is free of any artificial colors and flavor enhancers.

Ingredients

Chicken – This dish is made using skinless, boneless chicken. I have used chicken breasts, but you can also use chicken thighs. The thighs are juicier than the breasts and don’t dry out quickly.

The First Marinade

The first marinade is made using a mix of salt, ginger garlic paste, and freshly squeezed lime juice.

The Second Marinade

The second marinade is made using thick yogurt (dahi, curd), cornstarch, mustard oil, tandoori masala powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, and black pepper powder.

To make thick yogurt, keep a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Add yogurt to the strainer and keep the bowl with the strainer in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. The water from the yogurt will drip down into the bowl, and you will get thick yogurt in the strainer.

You can also use Greek yogurt in place of thick yogurt.

Mustard oil gives a unique flavor to the tikka. But feel free to use any oil of your choice.

You can make your Tandoori Masala Powder at home or buy a packet.

Others

You will also need onions and green bell peppers (capsicum) to grill with the chicken.

Skewers

Try to use metal skewers to thread the chicken pieces. They get hot and cook the chicken from inside as well. Make sure to handle them using a tong or a glove.

If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before threading the chicken; otherwise, they will get burned.

How To Make Chicken Tikka

Preparation

Rinse 26 oz (750 g) of skinless and boneless chicken breasts (or thighs) with water and pat them dry using paper tissues.

Cut them into ½-inch cubes.

Marinate The Chicken (First Marinade)

Add

• Chicken cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

to a large mixing bowl and mix well.

Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate the chicken for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Do The Seconad Marination

Take out the bowl from the refrigerator.

Add

• 3 tablespoon thick yogurt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoon mustard oil
• 1 tablespoon tandoori masala powder
• 3 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper powder

to the bowl and mix well to coat the chicken pieces.

Keep the marinated chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Smoke The Chicken (Optional)

This step is optional but gives a restaurant-like smoky flavor to the chicken tikka. It is called Dhungar method.

Heat charcoal over a direct flame until it is red hot.

Keep a small bowl in the center of the marinated chicken and place the heated charcoal on the bowl.

Drizzle 1 teaspoon ghee ( or oil) over the charcoal and immediately close the bowl’s lid.

Let the chicken absorb the smoke for 10 minutes and become smoky in flavor.

Remove the lid, and discard the bowl with the charcoal. Mix well.

Grill The Chicken

In An Oven

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Thread the marinated chicken in the skewers along with onions and green peppers (capsicum).

Line the skewers on a foil-lined baking tray.

Grill for 10-12 minutes.

Pull the tray from the oven and baste the skewers generously with salted butter. Flip and baste with butter on the other side as well.

Return the tray to the oven and grill for another 10-12 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 420 Degrees F and broil the skewers for 3-4 minutes until they are slightly charred.

Remove the tikka from the oven and serve hot.

In An Air Fryer

Line the drip tray of the fryer with aluminum foil.

Place the marinated chicken pieces in the basket in a single layer.

Air fry at 400 Degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Baste with butter, flip, and baste with butter on the other side.

Air fry for another 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked and slightly charred.

In A Microwave

Preheat the microwave to 400 F (200 C) on the convection setting.

Place the skewers on the grill pan in your microwave and put a tray underneath to catch drippings.

Cook for 25-230 minutes or till the chicken is nicely grilled and turns brown from all sides. Turn them around in between and apply some butter to get even color on the tikka.

In A Frying Pan

Add 2 tablespoon oil to the frying pan and place the chicken skewers on it.

Cook from one side for 4-5 minutes or till the chicken is nicely brown. Brush with butter, flip, and apply butter on the other side. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Now roast the skewers over direct heat for a few seconds on each side to get that slightly burned flavor. Sprinkle lemon juice and chaat masala over it and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pro Tips By Neha

Cut the chicken into even pieces and pat the chicken pieces dry using a kitchen towel before marinating them.

If using chicken thighs, reduce the grilling time a bit. Thighs cook faster than breasts.

Double marination is very important to make succulent tikkas.

Use only greek yogurt or hung yogurt to marinate the chicken. If you use regular curd or yogurt, it will leave the water and ruin the tikka. The marinade will not stick to the chicken pieces if the yogurt is runny.

Adding enough fat while marinating and grilling the chicken is extremely important to get juicy tikkas.

Usually, restaurants add red food color to give it a nice bright red color, but I won’t recommend it. You can use Kashmiri red chili powder for its natural red color.

The more you marinate, the juicier your tikka will be. Therefore, I like to keep the second marinade overnight.

Brushing the chicken with butter while grilling for a juicy, succulent tikka.

I have used onions, bell peppers, and marinated chicken, but you can use other veggies, like mushrooms, zucchini, baby corn, etc.

Make it dairy-free by simply substituting hung yogurt with Vegan Greek Yogurt.

This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

Serving Suggestions

Chicken Tikka makes for a delicious appetizer. Serve it with Coriander Mint Chutney or Dahi Chutney, Lachha Onions, and Lemon Wedges. 

Do not forget to drizzle some Chaat Masala over it just before serving.

I like to make a chicken tikka wrap by placing the tikka in a tortilla or Lachha Paratha along with some green chutney, mayonnaise, lettuce, and sliced onions.

Add it to salads, pizza, quesadillas, biryani, noodles, or rice. I love to top it over my Saffron Rice for a delicious meal.

The leftover chicken tikka is great for making Chicken Tikka Masala curry.

Storage Suggestions

You can marinate the chicken and store it in the fridge for upto 2 days. Once you want to serve it, grill it and serve it immediately. This is an excellent idea if you plan to make it for a large crowd.

You can freeze the marinated chicken for up to 3 months. Once ready to serve, thaw for a few hours over the counter, grill, and serve.

If you have ready tikka leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in an air fryer, microwave, or oven before serving.

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