Moist and Flavorful Chicken Tikka

Chicken Tikka  is a chicken dish popular in Indian subcontinent and in many countries all over the world.  I've eaten this dish in many Indian restaurants and wanted to find a chicken tikka recipe for myself to create. After searching the web, Pinterest and asking a lot of questions of fellow culinary adventurists, I compiled all the information and found a recipe that suited my taste and that of my hubby's. 

You look at the picture above and think "that's really beige."  This meal is very beige in color, but colorful in flavor. Don't let the plain jane look of this dinner fool you. It was incredible!!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1/2 to 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1 teaspoon garlic, grated

1/8 – 1 tsp red chili powder

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 large yellow onion, diced

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

 

For complete nutrition information, click the magic button

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.  Prick the chicken well with a fork.  I stabbed the thing to death, lol. This will allow the sauce to get into the chicken and make it moister and delicious.

In a bowl combine the yogurt, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and spices.  I used Greek yogurt rather then regular plain since I love how thick it is. If you want a thinner sauce, then go with regular. As you can see above, I noted a range of measurements for the chili powder. Some people like their food spicier then others so I would say go with your taste on this one. I used 1/8 teaspoon since hubby does not like a lot of heat in his meals. I would have used 1/4 teaspoon if it were just for me. Place the chicken in the yogurt mixture, and let it marinate for one hour in the fridge. I let it marinate in the baking dish I planned to use. 

After the marinating is complete, bring the chicken out and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I like to cook my chicken, steak or other meats after sits since the chill wears off and it cooks more evenly. While it was sitting, I sauteed the mushrooms, garlic and onions in a small skillet until the onions were translucent. Drain any excess liquid and add 3/4 of the mix to the top of the chicken and sauce. 

Place the chicken in the oven and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until cooked through.

While the chicken was baking, I added some garlic naan I found at Sprouts in the frozen section and cooked it during the final 5 minutes (per package directions). I also cooked up some Indian rice. I cheated there and used a box mix. I added the remaining mushroom and onion mix to it for added flavor. 

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

This was very good. The chicken was fork tender and hardly needed a knife. I love the garlicky goodness of this and the mushrooms, although not traditional, really added something to it. I think the ginger taste is too strong at the full teaspoon, so when I make it next time, I'm going to halve it. If you love ginger then go for it!!  

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