CHICKEN MALAI TIKKA

A chicken malai tikka recipe for soft, juicy kababs on skewers that will simply melt in your mouth. 

Tender pieces of boneless chicken are marinated in a unique blend of yogurt, cream, cheese, papaya and spices and cooked on a grill or oven. Perfect for an outdoor barbecue or luncheon.

A balmy summer evening in your backyard (or park). Your most favorite people in the world. And these creamy chicken malai kababs.

Sound good? Heavenly, I'd say!

Chicken malai tikka or murgh malai tikka (murgh - chicken, malai - cream) and barbecue parties are a match made in heaven. Always a super-duper hit with people. Bite into one tender piece and you'll know why. Not overwhelmingly sharp or spicy, these kababs are mild and creamy with a rich taste that lingers on long after they've disappeared.

And when you also have a cilantro-mint chutney to go with them? Oh, joy! Pop a chutney smothered tikka into your mouth and your taste buds will be doing a happy dance!

GRILLED OR BAKED MURGH MALAI TIKKA?

This choice depends on the kind of do you're having. If it's an outdoorsy summer event, go ahead and fire up that grill. Grilled malai tikka has a wonderful smoky taste and gets cooked faster.

However, if grilling is not an option, you can still have these kababs on skewers in your oven. Just position the skewers on a baking tray and bake in the oven. It will take a little longer though, about an hour's baking time for the kababs to be done properly. But they taste good!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CHICKEN MALAI TIKKA MARINADE

• boneless chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces.
• ginger-garlic paste - make your own or buy bottled. To make your own paste, put equal quantities of peeled ginger and garlic in a blender along with some water and blend to get a smooth puree. Store in a covered glass container/bottle in the fridge and use as required.
• raw papaya paste - fresh, raw papaya can be found in Indian stores. It's very easy to make this paste - just chop some papaya along with the green skin and put in a blender with a little water. Whiz to get a smooth puree. Or you can also buy bottled papaya, again from any Indian or Pakistani grocery stores.
• cheddar cheese, grated 
• Greek yogurt
• heavy cream
• white pepper powder
• green chillies, minced
• cornflour
• cooking oil
• lemon or lime, wedges
• cilantro or mint, for garnish
• salt

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GREEN CHUTNEY

• cilantro leaves
• mint leaves
• tomato
• garlic
• green chillies
• salt

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN MALAI TIKKA

Easiest thing in the world! Mix all the marinade ingredients + chicken, thread the chicken on skewers and grill away.

Here's a step-by-step -

1. Prep all the ingredients

• cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces
• grate the cheddar cheese
• mince the green chillies
• make the papaya paste
• make the ginger-garlic paste

Note: If you are in a hurry, you can cut back on the prep by using bottled ginger, garlic and papaya pastes.

2. Mix the marinade ingredients with a spoon and put the chicken pieces in it.

• Keep in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more (marination time). If using chicken breasts, you need a longer marination time, preferably overnight in the refrigerator. The reason is that breast meat tends to dry out and become tough at high temps especially when you're cooking it on a grill. So it's best to give it a longer marination time for soft tikkas. Thigh meat doesn't have this problem, so you're good to go with it with less marination time.

3. Thread the chicken onto wooden or metal skewers.

• If using wooden skewers, soak them first in water for a couple hours. You can do this at the same time as you put the chicken in the fridge to marinate.
• If cooking in an oven, line a baking dish with aluminum foil and place the skewers on it.

4. Grill or bake the skewers.

• Grilling - fire up the grill and place the skewers on it. Baste with oil or butter at regular intervals. Turn over and repeat. The kababs should be cooked through and slightly charred on the surface.
• Baking - Place the baking dish in a preheated oven (400 F) and bake for 25 minutes. Turn over the skewers and bake for another 25 minutes.

5. Brush the cooked skewers with some extra oil or butter and serve hot with lemon wedges and green chutney.

HOW TO MAKE GREEN CHUTNEY

• Put all the ingredients in a blender and whiz to get a smooth puree.

Tip - This is optional, but you can throw a little yogurt in the blender for a thicker cilantro-mint-yogurt chutney.

SERVING IDEAS

1. Warm some Indian bread of your choice (naan, roti, pita), and serve the chicken malai kabab over it. Or roll it up for a kabab roll!
2. Make a salad to go along with the kababs. Sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, finely cut green chillies and a dash of salt and lemon taste so good with these kababs.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 boneless chicken breasts or thighs cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 wooden or metal skewers
• a sprig cilantro for garnish
• lemon wedges

Marinade ingredients

• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 tablespoon raw papaya paste
• 2 tablespoon grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoon heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
• 2 green chillies minced
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 teaspoon cornflour
• salt to taste

Green chutney ingredients

• 1 bunch cilantro leaves
• 1 bunch mint leaves
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
• 2 green chillies
• salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Chicken tikka method

• In a deep glass bowl, mix the marinade ingredients very well with a mixing spoon and add the chicken pieces in it. Cover with cling foil and keep in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, more if using breast meat (preferably upto 24 hours).
• Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers, shaking off the excess marinade.
• Cook on a hot grill, basting with oil or butter at regular intervals. Turn over and repeat. Remove when slightly charred (20-25 minutes)
• If cooking in the oven, place the chicken skewers on an aluminum foil lined baking dish and bake in the oven at 400 F for 1 hour. At the half an hour mark, turn over the skewers once. When done, brush with some oil or butter.
• Garnish with some chopped cilantro and serve hot with the cilantro-mint chutney and lemon wedges.

Green chutney method

• Put the chutney ingredients in a blender and whizz to get a puree.