Recipe for the tastiest Tandoori chicken tikka
A whole year of cooking nothing but Indian food. Dan Toombs a.k.a. The Curry Guy took on the challenge, resulting in a cookbook of the same name. We’re fans of this chicken tikka recipe. Indistinguishable from a really good takeaway, but homemade.
Dan: “Red food colouring is often added to chicken tikka to make it look as though the chicken is spicy. I often use it for my chicken tikka too, but it adds no flavour and can be omitted. The food colouring is also sometimes replaced with beetroot powder, but then the meat doesn’t get the same bright red colour as in a curry house.”
This recipe is fantastic as it is, but you can also use it in curries. I usually grill these pieces of chicken on skewers over hot charcoal on the barbecue, but you can also bake them on a rack in the oven at 200°C.
How to make Tandoori chicken tikka
1. Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl, drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle with a little salt. Stir in the garlic-ginger paste and, if desired, some red food colouring for that authentic chicken tikka colour. Mix everything together well and set aside while you make the marinade.
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl with your hands until you have a smooth emulsion. Coat the chicken in the marinade, making sure all the pieces are well covered. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours and up to 48 hours; the longer, the better.
3. Prepare the barbecue for the direct grilling method (see page 88). Thread the chicken onto skewers once the coals are white-hot and place the skewers on the grill over the charcoal. Turn the skewers occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the edges are slightly charred. You can also do this under the grill.
4. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot, or use in one of your curries.
Title: The Curry Guy
Author: Dan Toombs
Publisher: Good Cook
Price: €19,95
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