Chicken Tikka
The one everybody orders first.
- Marinade
- 6 to 24 hours
- Prep + cook
- 25 + 30 min
- Safe temp
- 74°C
- Yield
- 1 kg raw, serves 4
Bone-in chicken pieces soaked in a tangy yoghurt marinade, brick red with Kashmiri chilli, then blistered over hot coals until the edges blacken and the juices run clear. This is the benchmark recipe: get this right and the rest of the grill follows.
Method
- 1
Cut each piece through to the bone in two or three places so the marinade reaches the middle. Pat completely dry.
- 2
First marinade: rub the chicken with the lemon juice, salt, ginger and garlic. Leave 30 minutes at room temperature, no longer.
- 3
Whisk the hung yoghurt with every spice and the oil until smooth and brick red. Coat the chicken, pushing marinade into the cuts.
- 4
Cover and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours. Take it out 30 minutes before cooking.
- 5
Light charcoal and wait until the coals are covered in grey ash with an orange glow, roughly 25 to 30 minutes.
- 6
Grill 5 to 7 cm above the coals, turning every 3 to 4 minutes, for 22 to 30 minutes. Baste once with a little oil or melted butter in the last 5 minutes.
- 7
Check the thickest piece next to the bone with a probe thermometer. Pull at 74°C. Rest 3 minutes, finish with chaat masala and lemon.
74°C
Safe internal temperature
Chicken must reach 74°C in the thickest piece. No rest needed for safety, though 3 to 5 minutes keeps it juicy. Times above are estimates; a probe thermometer is the only reliable check.
USDA safe temperature chartPitmaster notes
- Hung yoghurt clings better. Thin yoghurt drips onto the coals and steams the meat.
- For dum smoke, only use burning charcoal outdoors, away from doors and windows. Never use a hot coal in a kitchen or other enclosed space.
On the table
- Naan or roghni naan
- Mint and coriander chutney
- Onion rings in lemon
- Raita
Keep the grill going
Goes well with
Naan for tikka and kebabs
Explore naan to serve alongside your BBQ on our sister site, doubleroti.si.