Chicken Tikka

Chicken tikka is boneless chicken chunks marinated in yogurt and spices and grilled on skewers until charred at the edges. It's essentially tandoori chicken's boneless cousin, and it's the starter that, cut up and simmered into a creamy sauce, gave chicken tikka masala its name.

What it really is

Boneless chicken, cut into bite-sized cubes, marinates in yogurt, ginger, garlic and garam masala much like tandoori chicken does, but the smaller pieces need far less time — a few hours is usually enough for the marinade to fully reach the meat. Threaded onto skewers and grilled at high, direct heat, the cubes char at the edges within minutes while staying juicy inside, since there's far less mass for the heat to fight through than a whole tandoori chicken.

Boneless and quick-cooking is the whole point of the cut. It's what makes chicken tikka a fast starter rather than a dish that needs the lead time tandoori chicken does, and it's also what makes it the natural base for a sauce-finished dish like tikka masala.

How it is served

• On the skewer or off it, a handful of cubes per portion.
• With mint chutney and sliced raw onion.
• As a starter, though the same cubes reappear as the base of several main-course curries.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the dairy in the yogurt marinade.
• Say if the marinade rests overnight or for just a few hours, since a longer marinade genuinely changes the depth of flavour.
• Mention if the same cubes are used to build a specific main course on the menu, since guests may want to order the base ingredient of a dish they already know.