Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
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Chicken tikka is a boneless chicken morsel marinated with yoghurt and spices roasted in a charcoal fired clay oven called tandoor. The word tikka means ‘bits or pieces’. The dish is popular across the globe but the spice levels vary according to the palate of the region. There are other dishes like butter chicken or tikka masala which basically uses this dish along with a sauce to make it in curry form.
Chicken tikka
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
Chicken thigh 600g
Ginger paste 2 tbsp
Garlic paste 2 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Mustard oil 3 tbsp
Kashmiri red chilli 1 tbsp
Yoghurt 2 cup
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Cumin powder ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Kasoori methi 1 tbsp
Mint powder ½ tsp
Chat masala 1 tsp
Garnish
Butter 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves 1 tbsp
Lemon wedge 2-3 nos
Onion rings as required
Mint sauce to accompany
Method
Wash and pat dry the boneless chicken thigh and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes.
Marinate it with ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and salt and refrigerate at least for 2 hours (overnight marinating is the best).
Hang the yoghurt in a thin muslin cloth to remove the water and get thick yoghurt.
Take the hung yoghurt in a bowl and add the remaining spices and mix well to make a smooth marinade.
Marinate the chicken morsels in the prepared marinade and leave them for another 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Heat the oven to 180 degree C and skewer the chicken and cook evenly turning them to get the even browning of meat.
Once the tikka is half cooked remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-8 minutes to allow the excess moisture to drip down.
Baste with butter and return to oven to get the colour and cook the chicken.
Once done, the tikka should have a nice brown colour from the outside and soft and juicy from the inside.
Sprinkle some chat masala and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with choice of bread or rice.
Note: It is important to remove the tikka half way though and allow to rest as the meat will not get tough after cooking and also the centre will be moist and well-cooked. Otherwise in direct cooking the meat will shrink, making it tough to eat. Also basting the chicken tikka with butter will impart taste and will help in giving a nice brown colour from the outside. You can also cook this tikka over charcoal fire as that will give it a smoky flavour.
Praline
Praline is a confection primarily made from nuts and chocolates. Initially pralines comprised whole almonds coated in caramelised sugar. When this is crushed to powder it is called pralin and is a common ingredient in making cakes, pastries, desserts and ice creams. When this powder is mixed with chocolate it becomes praline, also popularly known as French chocolate praline. In Europe, the praline has evolved to a different candy altogether. In Belgium and France, praline is a smooth paste of cocoa blended with finely ground nuts and used to fill chocolate bon-bons. There have always been many forms and shapes in Belgian pralines. They nearly always contain a hard chocolate shell with a softer (sometimes liquid) filling. The filling can be butter, nuts, marzipan, or even a different kind of chocolate. They are usually wrapped as a gift.
Almond praline
Ingredients
Almond roasted 300g
Milk chocolate 500g
Raisin 100g
Chocolate truffle to garnish
For chocolate ganache
Cooking cream 100ml
Dark chocolate 100g
Method
For chocolate ganache
Heat cooking cream in a heavy bottom pan and add the dark chocolate.
Stir continuously to avoid the chocolate sticking to the bottom or getting burnt.
Once the chocolate is mixed with cream, pass through a sieve to remove any lumps.
And allow to cool at room temperature for 2–3 hours so that the consistency is thick.
For almond praline
Roast the almonds in medium heat oven to dry them.
Crush the almonds using a rolling pin.
Melt the milk chocolate over double boiler and add crushed almonds and raisin to it.
Pour the mixture in a tray to set the chocolate.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove and cut into desired shape using a cutter.
Garnish with chocolate truffle using a piping bag with star nozzle.
Serve as a dessert or along tea or coffee.
Note: you can create your own signature praline also by changing the almond with a mix of your choice of nuts.
Chicken tikka.
