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. Indian tikka and kebab recipes commonly use yogurt and spices to make the marinade as you would notice in lamb tikka, salmon tikka and chicken tikka kebab. However, what sets apart chicken malai tikka is the use of nut paste and malai (heavy cream). Chicken malai tikka is also known as chicken (murgh) reshmi rikka or chicken malai kabab is tikka with chicken breast and has a mellow flavor. 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. 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 jeera rice or rice pulao for a main meal.
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.
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.
- First Marinade :- We begin by rubbing lemon juice and salt on the chicken and then set it aside for 15-20 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. 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.
