Malai Tikka– Moist and Smoky

Malai Tikka– Moist and Smoky
Just 10 minutes to roast!
Roasting on a cast iron Tawa simulates a tandoor, there is no need to mess up the stove by roasting directly on the flame
The recipe is very simple to make. Clean the chicken, marinate it in the masala paste for about 2 hours, skewer and roast in 10 minutes flat! You can use chicken tenders or cubes of boneless breast meat or thigh meat for the tikkas.
Check out my detailed chicken Tikka video at
   • Tandoori Chicken Tikka – On the pan, ...  

Marinade ingredients and Generic Tikka recipe down below
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Key Equipment: A cast iron or iron Tawa
Ingredients: 4 servings (about 20 – 24 pieces)
Boneless chicken pieces* 500g
1. Specific tikka marinade** ¼ - ½
2. Ghee 1 - 2 Tbsp
3. Chaat Masala (optional) 1 tsp
4. Fresh coriander – finely chopped 2 Tbsp

* Use tenders or boneless breast or thigh pieces. The pieces must be uniform in size about 2 “
Malai Tikka Marinade
1. Garlic cloves 1 ½ Tbsp
2. Green chili – coarsely chopped 1 Tbsp or to taste
3. Fresh coriander – coarsely chopped 2 Tbsp
4. Ginger – finely grated 1 Tbsp
5. Fresh cream* 4 – 5 Tbsp
6. Salt 1 ½ tsp or to taste
7. Garam Masala 1 tsp
8. Lemon ** 1
*Any packaged fresh cream is fine – tetra pack or plastic. If you have cream from the milk at home that is the best.
* You can add a combination of yogurt and cream for a less rich version
** No need to add lemon of yogurt is sour

Generic tikka recipe
Prepping and marination
1. Wash and dry the pieces of chicken and set aside in a bowl.
2. Add the marinade and mix thoroughly.
3. Set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes, preferably two hours or more. If you are marinating the chicken for more than 2 hours, keep it in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before proceeding.
Skewering the tikkas
Tip: If you are roasting the tikkas within the hour, finish skewering the meat and then roast just before serving. This will save you some clean up at the last minute. Roasting takes only 10 minutes!

4. Lightly grease the skewers with ghee. Bamboo skewers must be soaked in water for about ½ hour and drained before using.
5. Skewer the chicken pieces. Fold each piece over itself and pierce it with the skewer. Folding the pieces makes the tikkas moist and juicy. Make sure there is about ¼“ of space between the tikkas. Add as many tikkas on the skewer as will fit. Leave at least 1” on the bottom of the skewer and 1½” - 2” on the top. If you are using a large tawa, you can probably roast all the tikkas in one batch. Otherwise, you will have to roast in two batches. Make sure that the chicken pieces are not over-crowded on the skewer. About 6 pieces per skewer is the maximum you should have.
Roasting the tikkas

6. Reserve the left-over marinade for basting. Keep the ghee and a basting brush or a spoon ready.
7. Place the tawa on medium- high heat. When the tawa is hot, spread a teaspoon of ghee all over the surface.
8. Lightly brush the left-over marinade all over the skewered chicken. Then place the skewers on the hot tawa making sure that all the pieces are touching the surface. Baste the top of the tikkas with the ghee and flip the skewer over so that the basted side is on the bottom. Cover and cook on medium-high heat for about a minute or two. The tikkas should develop brown (not black) spots where they touch the pan and the tops should become opaque. Baste the top of the tikkas with the ghee mixture. To turn the tikkas over you can either flip the whole skewer or turn each tikka using a fork. Cover and cook on that side for about a minute. Make sure that tikkas do not burn.
9. Remove the cover and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through and any moisture from the marinade has evaporated, about 5 – 6 minutes. Keep turning the individual pieces on the skewer to prevent burning.
10. Remove the skewers from the tawa. If you need to make a second batch, scrape out all the stuck-on marinade off the tawa and grease it with ghee again. Repeat steps 9 and 10.
11. Serve Chicken tikka immediately with green chutney and sliced onion rings. Sprinkle with finely chopped coriander and chat masala (optional).




Music Attribution:
Adana Teental by Aditya Verma, Subir Dev, YouTube Audio Library