A Delicious Grilled Chicken Recipe: Malai Chicken Tikka
If I had to choose one technique of cooking meats- making tikkas (grilled meats) would be my all time favorite. The process includes marinating any kind of meat or fish and then cooking them on skewers in a tandoor. Usually the marinade consists of hung or greek style yogurt (I tend to use low fat sour cream more often), lemon juice, ginger, garlic and a variety of spices. I think if I had to give up meat- it would be very difficult knowing that I won’t be able to eat any tandoori preparations- my weakness (one amongst many!).
The one thing I still don’t think Indian restaurants make really well here in the US are the tandoori dishes. Somehow in India, the marinated meats taste a lot more tender and full of flavor than the ones we eat here- not sure why?? I do make them at home, and the outside grill does a decent job of replicating the taste-although it’s not really the same… The most important thing is the marinade – if there is not enough flavor in the concoction, the meat won’t have any either. If I have to pick one ingredient that makes the most difference, I would have to say it’s salt. If enough salt is not added to the marinade- they meat will be tasteless! I remember, growing up we used to walk to an open market near our house with lots of food vendors. One of them made the most spectacular mutton tikkas I have ever had. They were tiny bite sized pieces of meat that were marinated and then cooked in a tandoor to perfection- I can still picture and taste them as if it was yesterday. Tandoori dishes are first on my list whenever I make a trip to Delhi- no different from any other city I visit- food is generally the focus!
In this particular dish, I have used cardamom, nutmeg and saffron as the main flavor ingredients. It gives the chicken a very subtle floral flavor. The other ingredient that gives this dish a very different flavor is the cashew paste. The nutty and creamy flavor gives the tikkas a very authentic taste in my opinion. The chicken is especially delicious if you use the outside grill- although the oven broiler will do the job as well.
My daughter and husband loved this chicken. We also cooked it in the class I just taught and the response was good as well. It’s a great dish to make for the summer with a yummy salad and a nice chilled rose or beer!!!
- 1½ pound skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 1 cup low-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons half-and-half
- 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- ¼ cup cashew paste- soak a ¼ cup cashews in 3 tablespoons warm water for 10 minutes and process
- 10 cardamom pods, crushed with green skins removed- about ½ teaspoon powdered
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Pinch saffron, soaked in 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
Combine the sour cream, half-and-half, ginger, garlic, cashew paste, cardamom, salt, nutmeg, lemon juice and saffron in a large Tupperware container or a zip lock bag. Add the chicken thighs and coat well. Marinate the chicken at least 2 hours up to overnight.
Take the chicken out of the marinade and grill outside or under the broiler.