Oven-Roasted Chicken Tikka from Made in India

For the first time in quite a while I went to the farmer’s market on Saturday morning. I walked over to my daughter’s and her fiance’s apartment and then we walked to the market together. I couldn’t resist the gorgeous eggplants and I loved that they were smaller since I’m usually cooking for just 1 or 2 these days.

First I made some eggplant Parmesan with one of them. I breaded and fried the sliced eggplant, made a quick sauce from a can of tomatoes and used up the last bit of fresh mozzarella I had on hand. It doesn’t photograph well but it sure tastes good!

I even got brave and made the Caesar salad dressing from Small Victories, which includes anchovies but uses mayonnaise instead of a raw egg. Delicious!

Last night I decided to make an eggplant and cherry tomato curry from Made in India, which I’ve made several times before. But flipping through the cookbook, my mouth started watering when I looked at her oven-roasted chicken tikka! In the picture they are on skewers but that seemed silly to do just for me. I would do them like that for an appetizer though. My picture isn’t as pretty as the one in the book but trust me–they taste fantastic!

I pulled a couple of boneless skinless chicken thighs from the freezer and marinated them while I practiced some fiddle. The whole dinner took about an hour to make but the chicken itself cooks in just about 20 minutes after marinating 15 minutes to a few hours.

Print Recipe

Oven-Roasted Chicken Tikka

Meera Sodha's oven-roasted chicken tikka is a snap to make. She has it listed in the snack section but it makes a great dinner. You can thread the chicken on skewers if you'd like. Make sure to soak them first so they don't burn in the oven.

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in 1" pieces
• 1 3/4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 green chile, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup plain whole yogurt
• 1/2 tsp chile powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
• canola oil

Instructions

• Put the chopped ginger, garlic and chile in a mortar with a pinch of salt and pound it until it is a rough paste.
• Put the cubed chicken in a bowl and add the paste plus all the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and marinate at least 15 minutes and up to several hours.
• When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with some parchment paper. Spread a bit of oil on the parchment paper.
• Shake excess marinade off the chicken so it will crisp up a bit in the oven. Place the chicken pieces around the baking sheet so they are not crowded together. You may need two sheets.
• Bake 10 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over, then bake another 10 minutes.