chicken tikka marinade

[cahami]

Hi i have been cooking (healthy) chicken shish kebabs for a while and this saturdays delight was tikka. I cheated and used (swartz) tikka mixed spice
followed the instructions: lemon juice,greek yoghurt,olive oil but to be honest i was dissapointed nothing like tika from the takeaway even the colour was wrong. So what are your tips to perfect chicken tikka? Thanks

[Griff Boy]

Well, first off. You need to leave it to marinade overnight, and personally I've never tried the pre done mixes, the home style version always works better for me!

The colour is from red food dye, some people add it to the mix to get a more restuarant look, it certainly does help, but changes nothing about the flavour.

The biggest issue is getting your oven hot enough to cook it in the true Indian style. Domestic ovens at best reach about 250c but tandoor ovens I believe get over 400c? So it's virtually impossible to recreate that blast of heat to get the charred exterior and soft interior.

Best advice is to try a proper homemade marinade, leave it for ages and blast in the oven! Use cuts like thighs or legs rather than breast as well.

[sgrimshaw]

For best home experience cook the Tikkas on the BBQ, maybe a bit chilly at the moment though

[Thunderace]

I pre-marinate the chicken in lemon juice for a few hours first.

I then use Patak's paste as the marinade, mixed with Greek yoghurt. I also add in extras, garlic, cumin, ginger, black pepper, chilli, turmeric, oil . . . It's left to marinate for at least 24 hours.

Usually cook it on the BBQ with the lid closed. If not possible, then the oven at full blast.

[21TonyK]

I've used this method a few times with great success. I normally skin and spatchcock a whole chicken before marinating. Absolutely fantastic slow cooked in the oven and finished on a BBQ (or under a red hot grill)