The main difference between tandoori and tikka is that tandoori is often made with larger pieces of meat on the bone or fish/seafood, whereas Tikka is usually made with smaller portions of meat that are cubed and often cooked on a skewer. Both of these versions are made from pre-marinating ingredients in a yoghurt paste with spices and are normally cooked in a traditional tandoor oven but you can easily substitute with a hot barbecue. This is a very versatile recipe as the paste can be used for all types of meat, fish, and seafood. Leaving the ingredients to marinade overnight is essential for the flavours to really kick in. These are traditionally served with rice, bread, chutneys, or pickles.

Ingredients

Serves 4

500g chicken goujons, or chicken drumsticks, or chicken thighs

400g full-fat yoghurt

3 tsp salt, preferably pink/Himalayan salt

1 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 heaped tsp ground cumin

1 heaped tsp red chilli powder, less if you don’t like your food too spicy

1 heaped tsp curry powder, less if you don’t like your food too spicy

1 heaped tsp garam masala

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

Juice from one lemon

Raita 

500g plain yoghurt, full or low fat

Half a cucumber, chopped into very small cubes

1 red onion, chopped very finely

A few mint leaves, chopped

A few coriander leaves, chopped

1 tsp garam masala, to taste

1 tsp ground cumin, to taste

1 tsp salt

Green chutney

A handful of coriander, leaves and stems

A handful of mint, leaves only

2 to 4 chillies, depending on taste

Half an inch of ginger, peeled

1 heaped tsp salt

1 heaped tsp cumin

Optional: 1 heaped tsp of amchur, or tamarind paste, or lemon juice

Method

1. Simply tip all of the spices and yoghurt into a large bowl and mix thoroughly for a few minutes.

2. If using chicken thighs or drumsticks, make sure to score the meat so that the marinade will really penetrate the meat and give it plenty of flavour. Place your ingredients in the marinade and coat thoroughly, then place in separate containers to leave in the fridge overnight. Freezer bags work very well for this. Leave for at least 4 hours to overnight.

3. If using smaller cubes of meat, use skewers and thread the pieces of meat on these for the cooking process.

4. Grill until cooked through and slightly charred.

Raita 

1. Chop all of your vegetables.

2. Add these into the yoghurt.

3. Add in the spices and salt.

4. Stir thoroughly.

5. Garnish with a few mint leaves, coriander leaves, and a touch of pepper before serving. You can also add a tiny bit of chilli powder for colour.

Green chutney

Simply put all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until liquidised.

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