Chicken Tikka Kebab features pieces of Indian spiced yogurt-marinated chicken skewered with peppers and onions. Make these delicious Indian chicken skewers on a grill or in your oven.

Kebab recipes are fantastic to make for meals during the warm weather months. They take very little time to prep and they cook up quickly, but even better, you grill them outdoors, so your kitchen stays cool! They’re versatile, too; you can customize the ingredients for the skewers based on what you have on hand.

Have some ground beef to use? Place a few Moroccan ground beef kabobs on the grill. If beef isn’t your favorite, make Persian lamb koobideh or Russian pork kabobs instead.  

Of course, there are plenty of ways to turn chicken into a grilled meal as well, including this recipe for Indian chicken skewers!

That being said, if you don’t own a grill, or you prefer to cook inside because it’s too hot to be outdoors, you can bake your kebabs in the oven instead.

Chicken Tikka Kebab

Cuisine: Asian / Indian

The flavors in this dish are similar to those of chicken tikka masala, a popular Indian curry. When your culinary travels take you through Asia, plan a visit to India. They offer some of the world’s best street foods, including grilled tikka kabab!

Course: Entree or Appetizer

Preparation: Baked or Grilled

Recipe difficulty: Easy  🥄

Description:
Small pieces of boneless, skinless chicken, marinated in yogurt and Indian spices, then threaded onto skewers to be grilled or baked. Often, onion, bell pepper, or other vegetables are included.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Boneless, skinless chicken– Either thighs or breast meat may be used. I prefer thighs because they are higher in fat, which helps to keep the meat tender and juicy.
  
• Vegetables– I add wedges of red onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper to my tikka kebab, which are all optional. Feel free to use different veggies, or add others if desired.
  
  Good choices are mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and even sweet tropical fruits like mango or pineapple would be fantastic.

For Tikka Marinade

• Yogurt– Any variety of plain flavor dairy or non-dairy yogurt works well. I use Greek yogurt for this recipe.
  
• Indian spices– The spices in the marinade are common for Indian cuisine; turmeric, cumin, coriander, dried fenugreek, garam masala seasoning, and kashmiri chile powder.  I prefer homemade garam masala.

Can’t find kashmiri chili powder? Not a problem!

If you’re in the U.S. and are unable to find kashmiri powder, substitute it with an equal amount of smoked paprika, with a bit of cayenne pepper added for spiciness.

• Raw cashews– Be sure to use raw nuts if possible, not roasted or smoked. Raw nuts have a neutral flavor, and they blend into a creamier consistency as well. For this chicken tikka kebab recipe, walnuts are a good substitute for the cashews.

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Recipe Tips

• Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but NOT LONGER than 4 hours. Unlike beef, poultry doesn’t have any tough connective tissue that needs to be tenderized.
  
  The purpose of marinating chicken is only to add flavor. If you marinate it too long, the proteins begin to break down. This can cause the texture to become grainy, mushy, and unpleasant.

Serving Suggestions for Chicken Tikka Kebab

The skewers are great on their own, but even better with a squeeze of lime juice, some chopped cilantro, and pudina chutney for dipping. Good sides are rice or grilled vegetables, and warm roti, naan or other flatbread.

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