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    Home

    Chicken Tikka Recipe

    Last Updated On: Apr 8, 2025 by Aarthi

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    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Chicken Tikka, pieces of chicken marinated in yogurt, spices and cooked till tender and juicy in oven, tandoor or tawa. Chicken tikka is one of the most popular and loved chicken dish all over the world. It can be made wide by variety of methods and every time it taste amazingly juicy, any leftover chicken tikka can be made into this delicious chicken tikka masala. Learn how to make juicy chicken tikka with step by step pictures and video.

    Chicken tikka

    Chicken tikka is a famous dish all over India. Traditionally it is made in tandoor oven, But I made it in normal oven. It still tasted great. The main thing you should remember is the marination of the chicken. I marinated over night so the flavour went deep into the chicken. You could let it marinate upto 2 days. You could serve this as it is. But I made Chicken tikka masala with this and served it with rice. I will post it tomorrow. Hot Chicken Tikka with a squeeze of lemon juice taste like heaven. My mouth is watering went I write this post. Ok anyway here you go for the recipe.

    Table of Contents

    • About Chicken Tikka
    • Watch Chicken Tikka Video
    • Chicken Tikka Ingredients
    • Tips for Juicy Chicken Tikka
    • How to Make Chicken Tikka (Stepwise Pictures)
    • Chicken Tikka in Air Fryer
    • Chicken Tikka on Stove Top
    • Expert Tips
    • 📖 Recipe Card
    • Chicken Tikka | Chicken Tikka Recipe

    About Chicken Tikka

    Chicken Tikka Recipe with step by step pictures. Chicken pieces marinated in a yogurt, spices and cooked till tender and juicy in oven, tandoor or tawa. 

    One of my all-time favourite recipes for entertaining, these chicken tikka are marinated in a tangy blend of yogurt, lemon, garlic, ginger and spices, then grilled on skewers until golden brown.

    I’ve specified boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. They’re more flavourful than chicken breasts, and easier to cook without drying out. I know some people prefer white meat but I’d urge you to try the chicken thighs — I’ve made it both ways, and it’s far superior with dark meat.

    Watch Chicken Tikka Video

    YouTube video

    Chicken Tikka Ingredients

    Chicken - Use boneless chicken thighs for more juicy chicken kebab. If using breast, cooking time will be less.

    Yogurt - use thick yogurt for tenderizing the meat. it helps in binding as well as making the chicken moist.

    Spices - blend of spices like kashmiri chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder is used. You can finish the chicken tikka with some chat masala powder as well.

    Lemon - lemon penetrates into the chicken making it more moist.

    Butter or Oil - finish the chicken tikka with some melted butter, ghee or oil makes it extra tasty.

    Tips for Juicy Chicken Tikka

    • Use boneless chicken thighs for more juicy chicken kebab.
    • If you are using breast, then cook it little less.
    • Don't over cook chicken else it will get dry.
    • Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours or overnight for best result.
    • Bring chicken to room temperature before cooking.
    • You can marinate the chicken for upto 2 days.
    • Store marinated chicken in freezer upto a month. Thaw it in fridge overnight before cooking.
    • You can cook this in charcoal bbq or outdoor grill too.

    How to Make Chicken Tikka (Stepwise Pictures)

    Marination

    1)Take chicken pieces in a bowl. use boneless chicken pieces in this recipe. It is best to use chicken thigh instead of chicken breast which makes the dish more juicy.

    2)Now for tenderizing the meat, add in some lemon juice. Lemon juice helps making the chicken moist and juicy.

    3)Add in thick yogurt, ginger and garlic paste, oil or ghee in the bowl.

    4)Add in turmeric powder, chilli powder. If you use kashmiri chilli powder you might get red colour.

    5)Add in coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder for marination.

    6)Season chicken with salt.

    7)Massage the chicken really well with spices, yogurt, lemon juice. Let the chicken marinade for few hours. You can let the chicken marinate overnight in fridge.

    Preparing Veggies

    8)For chicken kebab, i used onions, capsicum, tomatoes for skewering along with chicken. Take tomatoes in a chopping board, remove the seeds using a spoon from the tomatoes so it doesn't leave out water.

    9)Cut the tomatoes into cubes.

    10)Cut capsicum or bell peppers into cubes. I used yellow, red bell peppers. You can use green peppers too.

    11)Cut onions into cubes and remove the petals separately.

    Skewering Chicken

    12)Take metal skewers or bamboo skewers. If you are using bamboo skewers, soak it in water for few hours before cooking so the bamboo stick doesn't burn.

    13)Line the baking tray with aluminium foil, place a wire rack on top of the baking tray.

    14)Skewer the chicken with onions, tomatoes, peppers in the metal skewer.

    Cooking Chicken Tikka

    15)Drizzle little oil over the chicken skewers. You can brush the chicken with some ghee or melted butter.

    Place the baking tray in a 250 degree C preheated oven and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. After 7 minutes of baking, flip the chicken once, brush with some oil or melted butter and bake again.

    16)Chicken tikka is cooked. Remove it from oven and serve hot.

    Chicken Tikka in Air Fryer

    This is from another day when I made chicken tikka in an air fryer. I like to line the air fryer tray with foil to prevent dripping. I added some red food colour to the marinate.

    The marinate is same as mentioned above. Allow the chicken to marinate for minimum 2 hours. Arrange the chicken in a tray, place the chicken in the air fryer. Bake at 220 degree C for 12 to 15 minutes. Make sure you flip them in between, brush with butter or ghee and serve.

    Chicken Tikka on Stove Top

    This is method of making chicken tikka on stove top in a grill pan. This is pictures from my lime coriander kebab. You can follow the same steps for cooking chicken tikka as well.

    Skewer the marinated chicken in a skewer. Place it in a grill pan, you can cook in regular tawa as well. Cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes on each side, flip over carefully and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure you brush top with some butter or oil.

    Expert Tips

    The Meat

    It is best to use chicken thighs (dark meat). It has more fat and keeps the kebab moist. White meat(chicken breast) tend to get dry when cooked longer. But you can use chicken breast, but always keep an eye on the cooking time.

    2)Marinating

    Marinating chicken helps the chicken to absorb as much flavour as possible. So marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours. Marinate it for minimum 2 hours to maximum overnight or upto 2 days.

    3)Tenderizing

    There are certain ingredient which helps the chicken turn juicy. Yogurt and lemon juice adds nice tang to the chicken also the acid helps the chicken to turn juicy and moist.

    4)Cooking Time

    Always cook chicken tikka in a hot oven, in grill mode for lesser time. Other Recipes You Might Like    Grilled Chicken Breast    Best Grilled Chicken Ever

    More Grilled Chicken Recipes

    • Chicken Mince Kebab Recipe
    • Spatchcock Roast Chicken Recipe
    • Chicken Kebab Recipe
    • Seekh Kebab Recipe
    • KFC Chicken Recipe
    • Popcorn Chicken Recipe

    📖 Recipe Card

    Chicken Tikka | Chicken Tikka Recipe

    Chicken Tikka, pieces of chicken marinated in yogurt, spices and cooked till tender and juicy in oven, tandoor or tawa. Chicken tikka is one of the most popular and loved chicken dish all over the world. It can be made wide by variety of methods and every time it taste amazingly juicy, any leftover chicken tikka can be made into this delicious chicken tikka masala. Learn how to make juicy chicken tikka with step by step pictures and video.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Marinating Time: 2 hours hours
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 378kcal

    Equipment

    • Skewers
    • Tandoor, oven or grill pan

    Ingredients

    • 500 grams Boneless Chicken Thighs

    For Tikka Marination

    • ½ cup Curd | Yogurt
    • 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
    • 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
    • 1 tbsp Kashmiri Chilli powder
    • 1 tsp Turmeric powder
    • 2 tsp Cumin Powder
    • 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
    • 2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
    • Salt to taste

    For Skewering

    • 1 no Capsicum cubed
    • 1 no Tomato deseeded and cubed
    • 1 no Onion peeled and cubed
    • 2 tbsp Oil

    For Serving

    • 1 tsp Chaat Masala
    • 3 tbsp Butter or Ghee

    Instructions

    • Take chicken in a bowl, add spice powders, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, salt and ginger garlic paste. Mix well and Marinate for 2 hours.
    • Take a metal skewer or bamboo skewer. Place chicken, onions, peppers and tomatoes. Drizzle oil all over the chicken.
    • Preheat oven to grill mode to 250 degree C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil. Place a rack on top. Place the chicken over the rack. Place the chicken in oven and cook for 12 to 15 mins.
Flip over inbetween and brush with oil if needed.
    • Remove from oven, sprinkle top with ghee or butter, sprinkle with chaat masala powder. Serve hot.

    Video

    YouTube video

    Notes

    • Use boneless chicken thighs for more juicy chicken kebab. If you are using breast, then cook it little less. Don't over cook chicken else it will get dry.
    • Marinate the chicken for atleast 2 hours or overnight for best result.
    • Bring chicken to room temperature before cooking.
    • You can marinate the chicken for upto 2 days.
    • Store marinated chicken in freezer upto a month. Thaw it in fridge overnight before cooking.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servings | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 744IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @yummytummyaarthi or tag #yummytummyaarthi!
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    Aarthi

    About Aarthi

    Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chitra

      at

      truely mouthwatering perfectly done...

      Reply
      • Indhu

        at

        Could you share a chicken tikka,kabab, tandoori item cooking in tawa

        Reply
    2. Chitra

      at

      truely mouhwatering...perfectly done...

      Reply
    3. Pretend Chef

      at

      This sounds so delicious and looks mouth watering. Oh my! Yummy!

      Reply
    4. Stefania

      at

      i love chicken tikka, anda i love your chicken tikka. nice dish.

      Reply
    5. Francesca

      at

      ciao come va? deve essere davvero delizioso il pollo preparato così 🙂 a presto!

      Reply
    6. Sobha Shyam

      at

      mouthwatering chicken tikka, so simple to make..will try it out soon..

      Reply
    7. são33

      at

      GOSTEI DESSE FRANGO TEM UM ASPECTO TÃO BOMMMM...
      BOA SEMANA
      BJS

      Reply
    8. Deborah

      at

      Your chicken looks great...
      Kisses

      Reply
    9. Puan Ros @ Sinaranmenu.blogspot

      at

      Hai Aarthi, looks delicious

      Reply
    10. Priya

      at

      Super delicious and inviting chicken chunks,marvellous..

      Reply
    11. anthony stemke

      at

      Absolutely fabulous chicken here.
      Thank You.

      Reply
    12. Charley29

      at

      great post, I really like it. Thanks for posting. 🙂

      Reply
    13. Aarthi

      at

      Thanks everyone for your lovely comments...

      Reply
    14. shazhin

      at

      mouth watering!!!seems to be very delicious

      Reply
    15. Kadra Ibrahim

      at

      Yummy

      Reply
    16. Kadra Ibrahim

      at

      I love it

      Reply
    17. vinu

      at

      Hi I'm ur fan of ur receipe I love it all could u plsssssss tell me how can prepare tikka in pan

      Reply
    18. Anonymous

      at

      Hello Arti when I was searching for chicken tikka I came across ur blog... Lovely blog neatly made... I have a small doubt the chicken is made in grill mode or combi mode of grill and micro

      Reply
    19. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousi made this in otg oven

      Reply
    20. Anonymous

      at

      Hi Aarthi, the dish looks awesome. Plz suggest the way to make it in pan as v don't have oven.

      Reply
    21. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousu have to keep cooking it on a tawa, but make sure u cook on a low heat so the chicken cooks well

      Reply
    22. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousu have to keep cooking it on a tawa, but make sure u cook on a low heat so the chicken cooks well

      Reply
    23. Moon Jashnani

      at

      We can cook it in tawa

      Reply
    24. Aarthi

      at

      @Moon Jashnaniu can cook, but cook it on a very low heat

      Reply
    25. Meeta Chaturvedi

      at

      You say grill and bake both. when you say grill do you mean the top grill option? or do you mean bake only?

      Reply
    26. Aarthi

      at

      @Meeta Chaturvediyou have to grill the chicken, on top grill option.

      Reply
    27. Rajesh Kumar

      at

      "I am really enjoyed this dish; it was flavorful and filling.
      this dish looks incredible! 🙂
      restaurants in south delhi

      Reply
    28. Anbar Alee

      at

      Hi Arthi,i love your page and i try most of ir recipes. ur recipes r so easy to follow.
      I am making this chicken tikka today but i dont have grill. i want to give it a try on tawa though. i wanted to know whether i have to use oil for frying it on tawa or not?

      Reply
    29. Aarthi

      at

      @Anbar Aleeuse little oil.

      Reply
    30. chowringhee

      at

      First time here..u have a wonderful space with mouthwatering recipes and pics...Happy to follow you Visit mine as time permits...
      chowringhee laxmi nagar

      Reply
    31. Manali

      at

      Wow amazing... I hv two queries.
      Are you using OTG or Microwave oven in grill mode?
      My 2nd question is, does foil paper work in OTG Ovens, it doesnt burn?

      Reply
    32. Aarthi

      at

      @Manalii used OTG

      Reply
    33. Japheth Prakash

      at

      We have the broil option on oven? Can one use that? How long do you think on broil? Thanks...

      Reply
      • Aarthi

        at

        You can use that broil option. It depends on the size of chicken.

        Reply
    34. Tanisha Singh

      at

      This blog is Repository of food, i have found lots of delicious item, when i was seeing that type food i was feeling too much hungry. thanks for sharing it. restaurant near venkateshwar college

      Reply
    35. madhu

      at

      helo mam...awesome recipe soooo happy with the result....after trying ur microwave recipe found microwave cooking is awesome....taste and texture , aroma was so nice...thnks for sharing this recipe ....keep doing this work mam..its so helpfull for us...

      Reply
    36. Rekha

      at

      Hi aarthi,
      In microwave we cannot used the foil right?! So what other option do I have.? I don't have an otg

      Reply
    37. Zach

      at

      5 stars
      I have been using your site for a long time. I have never posted. This is my favorite chicken recipe of all time. I have been making it for years. Thank you for it. It is wonderful and has made me and my friends very happy 🙂

      Reply
    38. Chloe

      at

      5 stars
      very nice

      Reply
    5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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