Make Delicious Air Fryer Chicken Tikka at Home!
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Take the iconic chicken tikkas to your home with this Air Fryer Chicken Tikka recipe! You’ll see how easy it is to make this restaurant favourite with minimal equipment and still get the smoky and flavourful char without the tandoor - all you need is your air fryer!
Watch how to make Air Fryer Chicken Tikka here:
I’ve been using my Cosori air fryer non-stop, and if you’re on the fence about getting an air fryer, then I recommend you check out this video for my first impressions! It hasn’t even been a month since I purchased it, but the way I make food is so different! Something that I just absolutely had to try out in my air fryer was one of my all-time favourites… chicken tikka! I was skeptical about how the air fryer would do, but let me tell you that my life has officially changed now that I’ve cooked my chicken tikka in the air fryer, and I know yours will be too!
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Don’t forget to watch the video to follow along with all the steps on how to make authentic chicken tikka at home! It would mean a lot to me if you could please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and be sure to hit the bell button to be notified when all my latest video recipes go live! Let’s get air frying!
Why This Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Recipe Works
Authentic Indian recipe brought at home: I always order chicken tikka at Indian restaurants, and I can attest that this homemade recipe tastes just like from the restaurants! Yes, no tandoor is required - just your air fryer which I feel most modern kitchens have these days!
Perfect char: As mentioned before, chicken tikkas are a highlight at Indian restaurant. Their key characteristic is the incredible smokiness on the pieces of meat. The air fryer will be able to do this with ease!
Easier and less messy than the oven: I’ve been making chicken tikkas in the oven for over the past decade I’ve been in Canada. The broiler method has been my closest way to achieve restaurant-style chicken tikkas at home ever since, but now that I have an air fryer, this is going to change. The problem with making the tikkas in the oven is that the baking tray and the wire rack get really dirty after each use, and it’s always a pain the butt to clean up, especially if you don’t have a dishwasher! Plus, you really have to be extra attentive when the chicken tikkas are broiling in the oven. On the other hand, you just need to throw your chicken tikkas in the air fryer and there is much less supervision required!
Quick cook time: I also observed that it is so much faster to cook the tikkas in the air fryer versus the oven! The cook time was quite honestly cut down by half!
Versatile servings: You can have your tikkas as a starter or use them later on in famous curry recipes. I’ll outline all the ways you can enjoy your authentic chicken tikkas made in the air fryer later on in this post!
Questions You may have!
What is Chicken Tikka?
Chicken tikka is one of India’s most famous chicken appetizers in restaurants. For a formal definition, the Oxford Dictionary defines a tikka as: “an Indian dish of small pieces of meat or vegetables marinated in a spice mixture.” With that being said, chicken tikkas are small chunks of chicken that are marinated and cooked. You can also have paneer tikka for the vegetarian alternative.
What’s The Difference between Chicken Tikka and Tandoori Chicken?
While both can appear identical due to the colour and similar ingredients in the marinade, they are not the same at all! As we mentioned earlier, tikka means chunk. The key difference between chicken tikka and tandoori chicken is how the chicken is presented. For tandoori chicken, we typically go for bone-in chicken, and this can be chicken breast, wing, or leg. Because of the small pieces of chicken tikka, those are usually served as an appetizer, and a main dish would be the large pieces of tandoori chicken.
How Do You Get a Smoky Flavour Without a Tandoor Oven?
You can add some olive oil or mustard oil directly in the marinade or spray one of those oils on top of the chicken pieces as they are cooking. These oils will assist the chicken to have the iconic char we know and love as it cooks!
What cut of chicken should I use for Air Fryer Chicken Tikka?
My first choice for the perfect cut of chicken to make chicken tikka is chicken thighs. They are much more tender and the high fat content really makes the chicken so juicy, practically they “self-baste,” in contrast to chicken breast.
However, if you do want a cut of chicken that’s higher in protein and cooks a bit faster, then chicken breast can certainly work. For example, I use chicken breast for my Deconstructed Tikka Masala Lunch Bowl.
Another option that I like to do sometimes is to use a combination of both chicken breast and chicken thighs. If you decide to do this, be sure to keep in mind that chicken breast and thighs have varying cooking times.
How Long Does the Air Fryer CHicken Tikka Take to Cook?
This air fryer chicken tikka recipe will take about 7 to 10 minutes to cook, depending on how thick your chicken pieces are and the model of your air fryer.
What If I Don’t Have an Air Fryer?
That’s totally fine! You can follow my Oven-Broiled Chicken Tikka method, which I’ve been following for over a decade. However, if you don’t have an oven or forgot to preheat it and you want to eat right away, then you could also pan-sear the chicken tikkas on a cast iron pan. This can certainly be a life saver when you’re hangry! Pan-searing the chicken will result in the chicken cooking much faster, but you do need to be careful because there is a higher chance of the chicken becoming dry.
Can I Make Air Fryer Chicken TIkka in Advance?
Yes, you can definitely do a lot of the heavy lifting by marinating the chicken pieces and leaving the marinated chicken in the fridge for up to two days. While you could also cook the chicken tikka and enjoy it later in sandwiches & wraps or in curries, the chicken tikka will be the juiciest and tastiest if cooked and enjoyed fresh!
Tools Needed To Make Air Fryer Chicken Tikka
Ingredients for Indian Chicken TIkka
You can find the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD by scrolling to the bottom of this post to save the recipe for later and to see all ingredients and their quantities. By default, this recipe is for 6 chicken thighs, which can serve about 3 to 4 people if having these as a starter.
For the first marinade
Lemon juice: You can also use lime juice, which I’m using here.
Deggi mirch: This is the ideal spice because you will get a bright red colour without too much heat. However, if you don’t have deggi mirch and can’t find it anywhere, then paprika is a suitable substitute. I do recommend you don’t go overboard with it!
Salt: Key seasoning to taste.
For the second marinade
Chicken: I’m using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If you’re using skin-on and bone-in, you’ll want to remove the bone and de-skin the thighs.
Yogurt: I recommend plain full fat yogurt for the most authentic flavour. However, you can substitute with plain Greek yogurt if that’s what you have on hand! As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Making Cooking Fun!!, if Greek yogurt is all you have on hand, then don’t worry about it - you can definitely substitute the plain yogurt with Greek yogurt. However, Greek yogurt is very thick, so you need to keep that in mind. A combination I really like is to use some Greek yogurt and some sour cream, as I have here.
Ginger-garlic paste: I always recommend you make your own. It is just ginger, garlic, and some water in a blender! Be sure to check out my complete recipe - it comes together in just 15 minutes and you can make a large batch of it!
Garam masala: An iconic Indian spice that adds a great aroma, completing the marination.
Deggi mirch: A little extra from before.
How to Make Air Fried Chicken Tikka
For the first marinade
In a medium sized bowl, add chicken thighs cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, lemon juice, deggi mirch, and salt. Mix well, cover, and marinate for 20-30 minutes.
For the second marinade
In the same bowl as the first marinade, add the rest of the ingredients for the second marinade.
Mix well, cover and let marinate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
To Air Fry And Serve
Preheat the air fryer to 400 F.
Take chicken out of refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to take off the chill from the meat.
Place the marinated chicken pieces on your air fryer liner.
Set the air fryer temperature to 440 F and set the time to 10 minutes on the Air Fryer setting. Place the air fryer liner in the basket and cook.
After about 3 minutes, spray the chicken with olive oil, then continue cooking.
Serve hot with some cilantro, chutney, and top the pieces with molten butter.
Enjoy!
Tips for Restaurant-Quality Chicken Tikka Made in the Air Fryer
The longer your marinate the chicken, the better! If you can marinate it overnight or even for a full day, you’ll get the most flavourful results.
Use the highest quality olive oil for the best char and flavour in your chicken tikka.
If you’re wondering how many chicken thighs to make to serve a crowd, usually a portion is 1 and a half chicken thighs to 2 per person.
Pour some molten butter on top of your chicken tikkas if serving as an appetizer for the most incredible experience!
Serving Suggestions For Air Fried Chicken TIkka
Chicken Tikka can be served on its own as an appetizer, it appears on the menu at restaurants. Here’s how to serve these as an appetizer:
As skewers: Place them on a bamboo skewer or metal skewer with roasted onions and peppers. You could also marinate the onions and peppers with the chicken.
Brush on some molten butter with a basting brush as needed along with a pinch of chat masala
Lemon wedges to squeeze some fresh juice on top of the chicken pieces.
You can have these with some rice, including Steamed White Rice, Jeera Rice (cumin-spiked rice), Indian-Style Cilantro-Lemon Rice, Pudina-Dhanya Pulao (Mint-Cilantro Rice), Haldi Rice (turmeric rice), or a Light and Healthy Vegetable Pulao. Bread is also delicious with tikkas, such as Tandoori Naan, Lachha Paratha, or Rumali Roti. This is also a great appetizer before other mains for lunch or dinner, such as Delhi-Style Chole, Restaurant Baignan Bharta, or Dum Aloo.
Chicken Tikkas can also be used in main dishes such as Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala! You can also check out my Instant Pot versions of Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala, if you would like. Simply don’t brush on the molten butter and chat masala if using these in a curry.
More Air Fryer Indian Recipes
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Air Fryer Chicken Tikka
Take the iconic chicken tikkas to your home with this Air Fryer Chicken Tikka recipe! You’ll see how easy it is to make this restaurant favourite with minimal equipment and still get the smoky and flavourful char without the tandoor - all you need is your air fryer!
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 200g)
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp deggi mirch
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 Tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 1/2 Tbsp deggi mirch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- molten butter, as need
- pinch of chat masala
- lemon wedges
- Cilantro Mint Chutney
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, add chicken thighs cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, lemon juice, deggi mirch, and salt. Mix well, cover, and marinate for 20-30 minutes.
- In the same bowl as the first marinade, add the rest of the ingredients for the second marinade.
- Mix well, cover and let marinate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 F.
- Take chicken out of refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to take off the chill from the meat.
- Place the marinated chicken pieces on your air fryer liner.
- Set the air fryer temperature to 440 F and set the time to 10 minutes on the Air Fryer setting. Place the air fryer liner in the basket and cook.
- After about 3 minutes, spray the chicken with olive oil, then continue cooking.
- Serve hot with some cilantro, chutney, and top the pieces with molten butter.
Notes
If using chicken breast, substitute chicken thighs in recipe with equal amount of chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks.Plain yogurt tends to work better with this dish than Greek yogurt. Although it can be substituted with Greek yogurt, the thickness tends to intensify the spice level in the marinade. If using, cut the amount of garam masala and deggi mirch.Cutting the deggi mirch may affect the final colour of the dishYou may grease the wire rack with spray oil to help prevent the chicken from sticking.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
363.66Fat (grams)
19.06 gSat. Fat (grams)
5.33 gCarbs (grams)
9.32 gFiber (grams)
2.02 gNet carbs
7.30 gSugar (grams)
2.36 gProtein (grams)
42.35 gSodium (milligrams)
540.14 mgCholesterol (grams)
207.72 mgNutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
