Chicken tikka

I have kind of diverted  from the main  theme of my blog and have decided to take a break from baking for some time and include some of mine all - time favorite Indian dishes as I feel they too deserve a place of mention in the blog. 

Here is the recipe for Chicken Tikka, which is extremely popular not only in my house but has also managed to carve a niche for itself all over the world. According to Wikipedia "A survey in the United Kingdom claimed that it is that country's most popular restaurant dish. One in seven curries sold in the UK is Chicken Tikka Masala. The cross-cultural popularity of the dish in the UK led former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to proclaim it as "a true British national dish". Wow !! That's something. isn't it ?"

Here too in Delhi, even in the smallest of market, there is bound to be a small stall in the corner  somewhere serving tikkas and rotis, which incidentally, would have the most number of people crowded around it devouring the finger-licking, mouth-watering tandoori delight.

Traditionally grilled over red hot coals in a tandoor, I thought of trying to grill them over my  gas burner  and surprisingly it  turned out just great. It also became quite a family event, as you can see from the pics below, as everyone wanted to try their hands out at grilling the tikkas.
Be sure to marinate the chicken pieces  for atleast  5-6 hours (overnight would be best) for the flavours to get inside the chicken. Sprinkle with chaat masala and Serve hot with onion rings and a coriander chutney.


Ingredients
1 cup yogurt
1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into 2" chunks
1 tsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
1 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp orange food coloring
3 tbsp mustard oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 large onions cut into very thin rings
1 tbsp chaat masala 
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
4 skewers
Method
In a large bowl, combine  all the marinade ingredients - yogurt, lemon juice, garlic paste, vinegar, kasoori methi, red chilli powder, cumin, mustard oil, orange food color and the salt. 
Stir in chicken, cover, refrigerate overnight. 
Skewer the chicken pieces on thick skewers, not too tightly or they will not cook well on all sides.
While grilling turn the chicken every 2 minutes to grill all sides evenly till the chicken is browned on all sides and tender.
To barbecue, either a wood or a charcoal fire will do. Turn the chicken often so that it doesn't burn.
Remove the tikkas and put on a plate.
Put the onions in a seperate bowl and squeeze lime juice over them. Sprinkle with chaat masala.
Garnish the chicken tikkas with these onion rings.
Serve with a coriander chutney.

The marinated chicken

Threading the skewers.

Ready to roll !!

Kanika trying her hand at grilling.

Vedant  removing the Tikkas.