Chicken Malai Tikka, also known as Murgh Malai Tikka are are incredibly creamy, melt-in-your-mouth chicken kebab on skewers. This juicy chicken tikka is made with tender pieces of chicken breast marinated in delectable marinade of yogurt, almonds, heavy cream and aromatic spices like nutmeg and green cardamom.
These delicious murgh reshmi tikka have a mild flavor and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Cook over high heat to achieve a tantalizing charred flavor and serve with sides like chutney, sliced onion and rice pulao.
Chicken Malai Tikka are also known as Chicken (Murgh) Reshmi Tikka Or Chicken Malai Kabab. In mughlai cuisine, use of nuts and malai is quite common when making chicken tikka and these malai chicken tikka are no different.
Malai = Heavy cream. In Hindi, it is also used as an adjective to describe anything creamy. Reshmi refers to silky smooth, here it describes the melt in the mouth texture of these tikka.
Similar to seekh kabab, malai chicken tikka makes for a lip smacking food-on-a-stick perfect to serve as appetizers at bbq parties or with cocktails. These tikka are not too spicy, they are utterly creamy and with their mild flavors, they are perfect to serve to kids.
My vegetarian readers can use the same marinade to make paneer malai tikka. I love serving them with green chutney, instant naan, sliced onions and a few lemon wedges. You can serve with rice pulao as well.
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What is Tikka, Kebab or Kabab and Kabob?
Some of you, especially my non indian readers ask this so below I am explaining these different terms.
As far as grilling goes, tikka is describe dishes that consist of large, boneless chunks of meat, chicken or vegetables marinated and then grilled on high heat till done.
Kabob is western term used for cubes of meat marinated and cooked with vegetables usually on a skewer. For me, the cooking method for both tikka and kabob is same- cooking on high heat- be it oven, stove top or a grill. The only difference if I can point is the size of meat or vegetables. When I make tikka, I cut the meat or chicken or vegetables in a smaller size than for kabobs.
Kebab or Kabab is a generic term used in Indian and pakistani cuisine to describe pan fried preparations made with ground meat or chicken. Kebab is derived from the Persian word “kabab” meaning to “fry”. Kababs are usually flattened patty shaped except seekh kabab which are elongated and grilled.
Why You Will love the Recipe
- Super easy marinade.Great for meal prep.
- Can be used for making vegetarian or seafood tikka.
- Mild flavors. Crowd friendly.
- Great for Entertaining. Unique "creamy" looking tikka which stands out on the table.
- Amazing for weekday day lunches. You can cook the tikka 1-2 days ahead and store in fridge. Add to salads or wraps.
Ingredients For Malai Chicken Tikka Marinade
Few Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- You can use boneless chicken thighs if you wish.
- White pepper has a smoky sharp flavor profile and adds a unique taste to the chicken malai tikka. You can used black pepper if you dont have.
- Almond I use readily available super fine almond meal. If you want to use almonds, soak 8-10 almonds in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Peel the skin and grind with little water to a thick fine paste and use in the recipe. You can use cashew instead of almonds as well.
- To toast the besan (chickpeas flour), add a tablespoon of besan to a small pan. Roast on slow heat stirring around till its lightly browned.
- You can use cornstarch instead of besan in this recipe.
- Use serranos instead of green chilies.
- You could use store bought ginger garlic paste. To instantly make ginger garlic paste at home,take 4-5 garlic and 2 inch fresh ginger. Pound together in a mortar pestle. Or you can use a small grinder.
- If you cannot find greek yogurt, use hung curd instead. Choose full fat greek yogurt.
How To Make Chicken Malai Tikka?
The tikka is super easy to make. We are going to just mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken. Then, we will thread the chicken on skewers and grill, air fry or cook on stove top. Here is a step by step.
- Preparation :-
- You start by cutting the chicken breast in 2 inch pieces. You can also ask your butcher to do it for you.
- Then, we are going to pound together ginger garlic and green chilies. If you are using store bought ginger garlic paste, then make a paste of green chillies only.
2. First Marinade :- We begin by rubbing lemon juice and salt on the chicken and then set it aside for 15-20 minutes.
3. Second Marinade :- While the chicken is marinating, let's prepare the second marinade. We will mix all the ingredients listed in recipe card in a large bowl. Then, we will add the marinade to the chicken and using hands (best) or a spoon, nicely coat the chicken pieces in it.
4. It is better to marinate the chicken overnight. Or at least 4 hours. We will refrigerate the chicken. The longer you can let the chicken breast marinate, the better will be the flavors and tikka will be soft. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 1-1.5 hours before you are ready to cook.
5. Thread the Chicken on to metal or soaked wooden skewers, brush melted ghee and cook (details below on different methods).
Different Ways to Cook
You can cook the malai chicken tikka using any one of the below methods :-
- Airfryer Method - Air fry at 400F for 16-18 minutes. Time depends on size of chicken pieces. Please adjust accordingly. Tikka should be cooked and lightly browned on edges.
- Stove Top Method - Heat a heavy cast iron skillet or grill pan or a tawa(griddle) on medium( not smoky hot). Brush the pan liberally with ghee and layer the chicken in as single layer. Let cook 3-4 minutes, brush ghee at regular intervals(for softer tikka) ,flip and let cook till slightly charred.
- On the Grill - Fire up the grill and place the chicken skewers on it. Keep basting with ghee every now and then and cook on all sides. The tikka has be cooked through and nicely charred on edges for a smoky taste.
- In the oven - Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes turning the skewers mid way and brushing with ghee. Tip :- Place a small rack on the baking sheet if available, this helps in good air flow around the tikka and does not make them watery.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Chicken Malai Tikka with green chutney, warmed up naan, lemon and sliced onion.
Here are a few more serving ideas:-
- You can serve it with fries to kids.
- Serve it on top of salad greens for a healthy lunch.
- Shred the leftover tikka and use it to make quesadillas.
- Cut the chicken tikka into small pieces and use it as a taco or burrito filling.
Variations & Few Tips
- Make sure that the marinade is thick to begin with.
- Don't cut the chicken breast in very small pieces else it will become dry while cooking.
- For extra flavor and if you have time, once you have made the yogurt marinade, dont immediately mix it will chicken. Let the marinade marinate for 2 hours or so in the fridge. My mom used to make - ahead just the marinades and it really makes a difference.
- Take the marinated chicken out of the fridge 1 to 1.5 hours prior to cooking.
- Only when air frying or baking the chicken tikka- At the end of cooking, get extra char on the chicken tikka using culinary torch or placing under the broiler for a few minutes or rotating the chicken skewers right over the flame.[ Safety :- Please be extra careful while doing this especially if you are using wooden skewers].
- You can use this marinade with fish, shrimp or vegetables. Marinate for 30 minutes or so.
- You can use it with meat too. 2-3 hours are more than enough since the meat is super flavorful on its own.
- You can add 1 teaspoon finely crushed kasuri methi to the marinade for adding a punjabi touch to mall chicken tikka.
- You can also add some finely chopped green herbs like mint or cilantro to marinade.
FAQs
Absolutely! This recipe can be doubled for feeding a crowd. Please make sure to marinate the chicken for at least 8 hours.
Cooked malai chicken tikka stays well for 3 days in the fridge. I store it in a air tight container.
Due to mellow taste of the malai chicken tikka, I do not recommed freezing it.
Yes sure you can. You can use this marinade on chicken drumsticks, wings or thighs. Again I recommend marinating overnight or for 10-12 hours. Also, please note that the cooking times will be longer if you use bone in chicken.
Chicken Malai Tikka Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowls & Measuring spoons
- Metal or wooden skewers
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound boneless chicken breast (about 3 breasts) cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2-4 tablespoon melted ghee for cooking
First Marinade
- 1.5 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Second Marinade
- ¼ cup full fat greek yogurt or hung curd
- 3 tablespoon super fine almond meal or use cashew powder
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon melted ghee
- ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
- ¾ teaspoon white pepper powder
- 2 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 tablespoon indian green chilies paste (super hot), adjust to tolerance
- 2 pinch fresh grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon dry roasted besan (gram flour)
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
For Serving
- Green Chutney
- Naan or Any flatbread you like
- Sliced Onions, Cucumbers
- Lemon Wedges
- Chaat Masala
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the chicken and rub nicely with lemon and salt. Set aside for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, add all the ingredients listed under "Second Marinade". Using a spoon, mix to combine very well. The marinade should be thickish.
- Spoon the marinade over the chicken and using hands(best) or spatula, mix very well so that the chicken is nicely coated. Cover the bowl with a cling film and refrigerate to marinate for at least 4 hours, though overnight (8 to 12 hours) is the best.
- Thread the chicken pieces on metal or wood skewers. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes before using. Skewer the chicken tightly trying to thread them as flat as you can. I add 5-6 chicken pieces on each skewer.
Cooking The Tikka (use one of the following methods)
- Air fryer - Air fry at 400F for 16-18 minutes.
- Stove Top- Heat a heavy cast iron skillet or grill pan or a tawa(griddle) on medium high(but not smoky hot). Brush the pan liberally with ghee and layer the chicken in as single layer. Let cook 3-4 minutes, brush ghee at regular intervals(for softer tikka) , flip and let cook till slightly charred.
- On the Grill- Fire up the grill and place the chicken skewers on it. Keep basting with ghee every now and then and cook on all sides.
- In the Oven - Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Bake for 15-18 minutes turning the skewers mid way and brushing with ghee. Tip :- Place a small rack on the baking sheet if available, this helps in good air flow around the tikka and does not make them watery.
- Serve warm with accompaniments.
Notes
- You can use chicken thighs instead of breast.
- Time of cooking depends on size of chicken pieces. Please adjust times noted in every method accordingly. Tikka should be cooked and nicely charred on edges for a smoky taste.
- Make sure that the marinade is thick to begin with.
- Don't cut the chicken breast in very small pieces else it will become dry while cooking.
- For extra flavor and if you have time, once you have made the yogurt marinade, dont immediately mix it will chicken. Let the marinade marinate for 2 hours or so in the fridge. My mom used to make - ahead just the marinades and it really makes a difference.
- Only when air frying or baking the chicken tikka- At the end of cooking, get extra char on the chicken tikka using culinary torch or placing under the broiler for a few minutes or rotating the chicken skewers right over the flame( Safety :- Please be extra careful while doing this especially if you are using wooden skewers)
- You can use this marinade with fish, shrimp or vegetables. Marinate for just 30 minutes or so.
- You can use it with meat too. 2-3 hours are more than enough since the meat is super flavorful on its own.
- You can add 1 teaspoon finely crushed kasuri methi to the marinade for adding a punjabi touch to mall chicken tikka.
- You can also add some finely chopped green herbs like mint or cilantro to marinade.
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