Tikka Chicken Skewers with Cucumber Raita

An incredibly quick and easy chicken dish that you can get done in 20-30 minutes. And it’s so dang tasty that you’ll have people left, right and centre coming back for more.

If you ever struggle to figure out what to serve to a crowd of guests, I recommend making skewers. Just like I said in the chicken wing post I made, recipes like this are so mobile.

You can store these away and take them somewhere else. And it’s perfectly fine to cook these skewers and serve them later on, so you don’t have to worry about cooking close to serving time. And because this recipe uses chicken thighs, these skewers won’t go all dry when you reheat them.

Skewers are also great to serve to kids, as you don’t have to worry so much about mess.

They are also fantastic for BBQ’s.

Marinading the Chicken

This all depends on how much time you have. Marinading the chicken overnight will give you the best result. The longer you marinade, the better.

However, maybe you don’t have time to prep the chicken earlier on. Maybe you found this recipe in the evening to cook for dinner tonight and you simply don’t have time to marinade the chicken.If that is the case don’t worry, they will still be amazing if you just coat the chicken in the marinade, get them on the skewers and then cook them straight after.

Again, this is why I used the chicken thigh. The thigh is much more tender than the breast, and they stay tender.

I should also mention that this marinade makes the chicken taste so good because it consists of yoghurt. The acid in yoghurt reacts with the proteins of the meat, which breaks the meat down, leaving you with a tender and juicy result.

So just keep in mind that if you want to make your chicken taste absolutely amazing, you can always marinade it in yoghurt or buttermilk the day before.

I also like this marinade because it does such a good job at coating and charring chicken as you cook it on really high heat.

Soak the skewers

This advice only applies if you’re using wooden skewers. The reason it’s a good idea to soak your skewers in water for about 10 minutes, is because it helps prevent them from burning in the oven. Remember the oven will be super hot, no low and slow cooking today friends.

You can of course use metal skewers. You don’t have to soak them, they’re re-usable and they slide off the skewers much more easily. Just make sure people know that they will be super hot as you serve. Just in case someone tries to pick one up.

Cooking the chicken

You could line a tray with baking paper, and cook the skewers on there. However, I try to avoid a full surface in this situation. Meaning I prefer to cook the skewers on metal bars. This is because the airflow will hit all the areas of the meat, whereas a full flat surface will make the bottom of the skewers soggy.

Now, remember, we aren’t really even using the oven you cook these chicken skewers, you need to make sure that your oven is on the grill setting. This is what will cook the chicken super fast, and give that beautiful char.

If you have nice, clean bars on the BBQ, this could be a perfect time to use them. Just make sure that BBQ is super hot before you close the lid because we are cooking these chicken tikka skewers hot and fast.

Thank you so much for the time you spent on this post. I hope you make the most amazing chicken tikka skewers! If you would like to subscribe to my blog, go ahead and do so. You will receive weekly recipe posts through your E-mail and you’ll also get a free E-book consisting of 10 free recipes.

Hope you have an amazing day!

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Tikka Chicken Skewers with a Cucumber Raita

Beautifully marinated and charred chicken tikka skewers served with refreshing cucumber raita. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword chicken tikka marinade, chicken tikka recipe, cucumber raita

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 674 kcal

Author Nicolas

Ingredients

Chicken Tikka skewers (makes roughly 8-10 skewers)

• 1.25 kg of boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 cup of natural yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Cucumber Raita

• 1 cucumber halved length-ways, cored and diced into centimeter cubes
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• 1/2 clove of garlic grated
• A pinch of ground cumin
• A pinch of ground coriander
• A pinch of salt

Instructions

Cucumber Raita:

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the cucumber raita in a bowl. Set aside. 

Chicken Tikka Skewers:

1. Put your chicken, yoghurt, lemon juice, cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, garlic powder, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and salt in a bowl and mix everything together.  

2. Marinade overnight if possible, or just continue with the recipe if you don't have the time. 

3. Next, preheat the oven to 225 degrees C (435 degrees F), then switch the oven to the grill setting. 

4. If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 10 minutes. This will prevent the skewers from burning in the oven. 

5. Thread the chicken on your skewers, then place them on an ovenproof wire rack or on a roasting rack. Put the roasting rack over any kind of tray or roasting pan. Cook the skewers under the hot oven for about 7 minutes, take them out, turn them over/grill and then cook for another 2-3 minutes so that the chicken is coloured on both sides. 

6. Serve your chicken tikka skewers with the cucumber raita. 

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

• If you have the time, marinate the chicken overnight for the best result. If you can't do that, no worries you'll still get a great result.
• If you ever want tender moist chicken, marinade it in yoghurt or buttermilk.
• Skewers are great for serving crowds of people, especially when you need to feed kids.
• If your using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 10 minutes before putting the chicken on them.
• Cook the chicken on bares either in the BBQ or on a roasting rack in a tray when cooking in the oven. This helps stops the chicken from going soggy on the bottom.

Nutrition Facts

Tikka Chicken Skewers with a Cucumber Raita

Amount Per Serving

Calories 674 Calories from Fat 239

% Daily Value*

Fat 26.6g41%

Saturated Fat 8.4g53%

Cholesterol 290mg97%

Sodium 898mg39%

Potassium 1067mg30%

Carbohydrates 9.3g3%

Fiber 0.9g4%

Sugar 5.8g6%

Protein 94.6g189%

Calcium 140mg14%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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