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This is a famous chicken appetizer from Indian cuisine. ‘Chicken tikka’ is made of soft boneless chicken bits marinated in spicy, creamy and tangy marinade and cooked till smoky and tender. This dish is loved by all. So get goin with this recipe prepare the same mouthwatering tikkas you have in restaurants. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients:
500 gms boneless, skinned chicken breast,
1 tsp salt,
Juice of 1/2 a lemon,
1/2 tsp. tandoori color or a few drops of red food coloring mixed with 1 tbsp. tomato puree,
2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped,
1/2-inch cube of root ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped,
1/4 of a whole nutmeg, finely grated,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
3/4 tsp. chili powder,
1/2 tsp garam masala,
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped,
150 gms thick yogurt,
4 tbsp vegetable oil.

Method:
Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Put the rest of the ingredients into an blender or grinder and blend until smooth. Put this marinade into a sieve and hold the sieve over the chicken pieces. Press the marinade through the sieve with the back of a metal spoon until only a very coarse mixture is left.
Coat the chicken thoroughly with the sieved marinade. Cover the container and leave to marinate for 6-8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 230 degrees C/450 degrees. Place an aluminum foil in a roasting tin (this will help to maintain the high level of temperature required to cook the chicken quickly without drying it out).

Arrange the chicken onto skewers, leaving around 1/4-inch gap between each piece (this is necessary for the heat to reach all sides of the chicken).

Place the skewers in the prepared roasting tin and brush with some of the remaining marinade. Cook in the center of the oven for 6-8 minutes.

Take the tin out of the oven, turn the skewers over and brush the pieces of chicken with the remaining marinade. Return the tin to the oven and cook for a further 6-8 minutes.

Shake off any excess liquid from the chicken. Place the skewers on a serving dish. You may take the tikka off the skewers if you wish, but allow the meat to cool slightly before removing from the skewers
 

TIP:
Any excess liquid from the Chicken Tikka could be kept aside to be used as tikka masala.

Ingredients:
For the chicken-
200gms boneless chicken; cut into bite size cubes,
1 tbsp schezwan sauce,
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste,
1 tbsp vinegar,
Salt to taste,
3/4 cup Cornflour + wheat flour for dusting and coating,
Oil for deep frying.

For the hot garlic sauce-
10-12 cloves of garlic; freshly and finely chopped,
1 tbsp schezwan sauce,
1 tbsp red chilli paste,
2 tbsp tomato puree,
1 tbsp vinegar,
Salt and pepper to taste,
2 tbsp Olive oil,
Water.

Other-
2 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice (french beans, carrots, green, red and yellow peppers, etc),
2 onions; halved and thinly sliced,
3-4 large leaves of cabbage; slightly blanched,
1 cup cooked rice or rice noodles,
1 tbsp soy sauce,
Salt and pepper to taste,
Butter for frying,
Sizzler plate.

Method:
Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, schezwan sauce, vinegar and salt for at least 2 hours. Spread some mixture of cornflour and wheat flour on a plate. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of cornflour and wheat flour in a bowl with water and prepare a thin paste of dipping consistency. Heat oil for deep frying in a wok (kadhai) on medium flame. When oil is hot, first dust each chicken piece into the flour in the plate and then dip into the flour paste and slowly drop into hot oil. Fry these chicken pieces on low-medium flame till they are cooked and turn golden brown.

Place the sizzler plate on the flame.

In another pan, melt some butter and saute all the vegetables on low-medium flame, stirring continously for 2-3 minutes. Season them with salt and pepper. Remove from flame and set aside. Heat another pan, melt little butter and add cooked rice/noodles to it. Stir well for a minute. Then season with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Mix well, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, add olive oil, when hot add chopped garlic and saute for a minute. Then add schezwan sauce, chilli paste, vinegar and tomato puree and cook for a minute. Then add water to get the consistency of a sauce. Bring to boil by stirring occasionally. Then add the fried chicken pieces to this sauce and toss well.

Now remove the sizzler plate from the flame and place it onto its wooden tray. Place the cabbage leaves to cover the plate, then sprinkle sliced onion evenly over the cabbage leaves. Now one by one place cooked rice on one side, sauted vegetables on another leaving space in between for the chicken. Pour the chicken in hot garlic sauce in the center of the plate. Now scoop out dollops of butter and place it under the cabbage on the sizzler plate. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:
2 pound chicken wings 10
1 1/2 tsp garlic; minced,
1/4 cup soy sauce,
1/4 cup white wine,
1 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder,
1 1/4 tsp salt,
3-4 tbsp oil.

Method:
Mix together all the ingredients and marinate the wings in a container, seal with plastic wrap or marinate the wings in a resealable bag. Refrigerate for few hours or overnight for best results. Either grill the wings till they are cooked and nice brown. Or bake at 350° F (175° C) for till chicken is done. Brush with remaining marinade at intervals.

Ingredients:
4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts; cut into long fingers,
2 eggs; beaten,
1 tsp garlic powder,
1 tsp onion powder,
1 tsp ground mustard,
1 tsp seasoning salt,
Bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs to coat,
Oil for frying.

Method:
Season egg with garlic, onion, mustard and little salt. Whisk well and then dip the chicken fingers into it. Let the chicken marinate into the egg mixture for few hours in the refrigerator. At the time of preparation, mix the bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs and some seasoning salt on a sheet or dish. Spread it and then roll each finger into this and keep aside. Meanwhile heat oil in a wok for deep frying on medium flame. Drop few fingers into the oil and fry on low-medium flame till crisp and golden brown. Similarlry prepare all the chicken fingers.

You can also choose to bake these chicken fingers. Preheat the oven at 400°F (205°C) oven for 5 minutes. Then arrange the chicken fingers on a cookie sheet and then bake them at the same temperature for around 7-8 minutes. Turn them over and again bake for 6-7 minutes until chicken is crisp and golden.

Serve hot with chilli sauce or coriander dip.

This popular Mexican fast-food is full of cheese and chicken wrapped in tortillas.

Ingredients:
2 large tortillas, (corn or wheat)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese; grated,
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese; grated,
1 cup boneless chicken; cooked and shredded,
1 clove of garlic, minced,
1/2 onion; chopped,
1/2 tomato; chopped,
1/2 cup chopped green, red and yellow peppers,
1/2 tsp chopped cilantro or coriander leaves,
Salt to taste,
1-2 tbsp butter,
Salsa as per taste.

Method:
There are two methods of preparing this quesadilla.

Method I-
In a heavy skillet, melt the butter, add garlic, onion and peppers, saute for few minutes. Add tomatoes,  cooked chicken shreds, cilantro and salt. Give it a nice stir and remove from flame. Add salsa and mix well.
Heat a griddle over medium flame. Grease it with little butter. Place one tortilla on it. Flip over after a minute. Now on this side, on one half on the tortilla (since we have to fold the tortilla), sprinkle half of cheddar and monterey jack cheese, half of the cooked mixture, spread evenly. Leave little space at the edge (to seal), apply little water and then fold the other side over this. Immediately flip the quesadilla, cook from this side for 30 seconds and then transfer it to the serving dish. Similarly prepare the other quesadilla. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter make 3 equal size pieces of each quesadilla.

Method II-
Preheat oven to 440 D F or 200 D C. Meanwhile in a bowl combine all the ingredients. Divide this filling into two for each tortilla. Place a tortilla in a plate, spread one portion of this mixture on one half of the tortilla, fold the other unfilled side and press together to seal. Similarly prepare the other tortilla and place both on a baking tray. Bake on each side for around 5 minutes or till it turns crisp.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter make 3 equal size pieces of each quesadilla.