Ever passed by a food vendor on a street or a restaurant having a specialty in chicken? Isn’t the rich aroma of grilled and smoked chicken makes you crave for it! Being an ardent chicken lover your tummy must have grumbled every time while crossing it. Of course, we all have experienced it many times. What’s the secret behind that tempting aroma?
For some, it might be the Kababs and for some, it’s chicken chunks or cutlets better known as Tikkas. What if you want to try both the taste as a fusion in one recipe? Yes, Chicken Malai Tikka Recipe is here for you. Juicy tendered soft grilled chicken marinated in cream, ginger garlic paste, onion, and aromatic herbs and spices. This makes me crave more to have a try on it.
A Brief About the Fusion- Chicken Malai Tikka Recipe
Chicken Malai Tikka is an Indian innovation with a distinct taste. It is well known by many names – Murgh Malai Tikka, Chicken Malai Kabab, and more common as Malai Tikka. Here” Murgh” refers to Chicken and “Malai is cream”.
It is slightly different from the basic grilled chicken tikka as it can be served in many ways. Chicken Malai Tikka is preferably consumed as a starter, snack, or as a main course with rice or naan.
A Saga of Tikkas and Kababs
When going back in the past you will get to know that lamb was the most preferable meat in the Middle East. Many evidence depicts that it has been consumed since 3000 BC. Moreover, much ancient literature associated with the mid-east has detailed that animal which was consumed they usually named it, just like lamb named for “meat”.
When talking about the Tikkas or Kababs which are mostly skewed or roasted nowadays got their existence from the time of the Ottoman Empire. The saga of Tikkas (Kababs) prepared using skewers and grillers can’t be accomplished without naming Turkey. You can call Istanbul, the capital of Turkey as the capital of Tikka or kabab.
Constantinople, a city of the Byzantine Empire was conquered by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II in 1453. In the 15th and 16th century Ottoman Empire became the largest empire in the world. During the expansion of the empire Ottoman army didn’t have any other option to live in camps.
One story from that time tells that the Ottoman army used to hunt the local animals for their diet and grilled their meat on an open fire using their swords as skewers. Although India was not the part of the Ottoman Empire thus it adopted tikka culture from the Afghans invaders.
Steps For Making Chicken Malai Tikka or Kabab Recipe At Home
Equipment
- Barbeque
Ingredients
For First Marination
- 500 gm Small Chicken Pieces (boneless)
- 1 tbsp Garlic Paste
- ½ tbsp Ginger Paste
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- Salt To Taste
For Second Marination
- 3 tbsp Hung Curd
- 3-4 tbsp Cream (malai)
- 3 tbsp Almond Paste
- ½ tbsp Green Chili Paste
- ½ tbsp Garam Masala
- ½ tbsp Kasuri Methi (crushed)
- ¼ tsp White Pepper
- 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves
- Salt To Taste
For Garnishing
- Onion Slices
- Chaat Masala
- Lemon
Instructions
For First Marination
- Take a boneless chicken and cut it into small pieces.
- In a bowl add chicken pieces, ginger garlic paste, black pepper powder, salt, and mix it.
- Now leave it for a minimum of one hour.
For Second Marination
- In a bowl add hung curd, fresh cream, almond paste, green chili paste, garam masala, Kasuri methi, white pepper, coriander leaves, salt, marinated chicken and mix it until all the marination coated with chicken pieces.
- Now leave it overnight or a minimum of one hour.
For Cooking
- After marination, you will cook it on a barbeque, tandoor, oven, or pan. In which you are comfortable.
- Serve it with onion slices, lemon, and chaat masala.
Also, try other Indian starter recipes: