15 Minute Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Recipe

Source video by My Little Kitchen on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules.

This is Shamz's air fryer take on classic tandoori chicken tikka. Cubed chicken breast is marinated in a Greek yogurt base with gram flour, ginger, garlic, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala, fenugreek and saffron for natural colour, then threaded onto soaked wooden skewers. The air fryer does the work at 200°C, with a final blast at maximum heat to char the edges. Serve with flatbreads, salad, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of chaat masala for that authentic finish.

Ingredients

• 700 gchicken breast fillet, cubed into medium bite-sized pieces

• 6 tbspGreek yogurt
• 2 tbspchickpea flour (gram flour / besan)
• 23 ggarlic cloves, peeled, blitzed to a puree with the ginger and water
• 13 gfresh ginger, peeled, blitzed to a puree with the garlic and water
• 2 tbspwater, for blitzing the ginger and garlic

• 2 tspcoriander powder
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 1.5 tspKashmiri chilli powder
• 0.5 tspcinnamon powder
• 0.5 tspsugar
• 0.5 tspgaram masala
• 1 tbspdried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), heaped, crushed between palms
• 0.5 tspsaffron strands, lightly crushed

• oil spray (add late)
• butter, melted (add late)
• 1 wholelime, for squeezing over (add late)
• chaat masala, a pinch for sprinkling (add late)

Method

1. Peel the garlic and ginger and blitz in a food processor with 1-2 tbsp of water to a fine puree.

   ~2 min

2. In a large bowl, add the Greek yogurt and gram flour. Mix until smooth with no lumps.

   ~2 min

3. Add the ginger and garlic paste, coriander powder, salt, Kashmiri chilli powder, cinnamon, sugar, garam masala, and the dried fenugreek leaves (crushed between your palms to release the aroma). Add the crushed saffron and mix everything together.

   ~2 min

4. Add the cubed chicken and mix well so every piece is coated. Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours (overnight is even better).

   ~3 min

5. Take the chicken out of the fridge and give it a final mix. Thread roughly 5 pieces of chicken onto each pre-soaked 18 cm wooden skewer. The recipe makes 8-10 skewers.

   ~5 min

6. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C.

   ~3 min

7. Lightly spray the base of the air fryer with oil, lay in 4 skewers, and spray the tops lightly. Cook at 200°C for 14 minutes.

   ~14 min

8. Turn the air fryer up to 230°C (or its maximum setting) and cook for a further 1 minute to char and crisp the edges.

   ~1 min

9. Transfer the skewers to a plate, baste with melted butter, squeeze over fresh lime juice and sprinkle with chaat masala. Repeat with the remaining skewers.

   ~2 min

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