Chicken Tikka makes regular appearance  in all Indian restaurants. The Malai kabab is little different from the usual orange hued chicken tikka that you see in the appetizer section of the restaurant’s menu. These are irresistible tender succulent pieces of chicken that melts in your mouth as they are marinated in thick yogurt, creme (malai), cheese, herbs & spices and grilled to perfection. This makes great appetizers or have it as a main meal with grilled vegetables and your choice of rice, or couscous.

The Malai Kabab makes a great party dish, and everytime I serve them they disappear quite quickly. Try it out, & you will not regret it:-D.

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb of boneless chicken breast cut in to 1.5 inch cubes
2. 2 tablespoons Ghee( may be substituted with butter or cooking oil)
3. 1/2 lemon or lime
4. 1/2 Onion Thickly sliced
5. Skewers

For Marinade:

Wet marinade:

1. 2 tablespoons of sour creme or greek yogurt
2. 1 tablespoon of shredded or crumbled mozarella cheese
3. 1 tablespoon Lemon/Lime juice
4. 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
5. 1 tablespoon of garlic paste
6. 1 tablespoon of onion paste
7. 1.5 tablespoons of ginger paste
8. 1 tablespoon Ghee

Dry marinade:

1. 1/4 spoon of meat tenderizer
2. Seasalt
3. 1 pinch of saffron
4. 1 teaspoon of Cumin Seeds/Jeera
5. 1 teaspoon of Garam Masala (also available in Indian Grocery)
6. 1/2 teaspoons of Orange Food Color Powder (Optional)
7. 1 tablespoon of red chilli powder (Optional)
8. 1 tablespoon of Kasuri Methi ( this is dried fenugreek leaves available in Indian Grocers)
9. 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Pat the cubed chicken pieces with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as you can. In a bowl combine all the dry marinade ingredients, ( if using liquid food color, mix it with the wet marinade) and rub it on to the chicken pierces and let the chicken cubes sit in the refrigerator for about half an hour.

In the mean time mix all the ingredients for the wet marinade in a bowl. Mix it well so there are no lumps.

Take the chicken out and add this marinade to the chicken pieces. Cover and place in the refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferable over night.

To grill the chicken, skewer the cubes in bamboo skewers or metal ones. Like all other Tikkas this is best chargrilled. But this can be broiled in the oven too.

Bast the meat with ghee/butter/oil and broil in the oven at 450 degree F for about 20 -25 minutes, turning them around mid way. Broil them till they are done and no meat juices run and there are little brown spots on the chicken cubes.

Alternative Method:

Heat a large pan and coat it with ghee/butter/oil.  Place the skewers on the pan and cook at low to medium heat for about 20 minutes turning them around from time to time. Cook them till they are done and no meat juices run and there are little brown spots on the chicken cubes.

Serve on the bed of  grilled Onions and Squeeze fresh Lemon/Lime juice on the Chicken and Onion, with Mint & Coriander Chutney as a dipping sauce.

Note: I have cooked the chicken in a large pan this time.  If  you are making it in larger quantities, it is easier to broil it in the oven or use the grill.

Related Posts:

Sheekh Kabob (Skewered Chicken)
Chicken Strips

Tags: Appetizer, cheese, chicken, chicken marinated in cheese, chicken tikka kabab, creme, Garlic, ghee, ginger, grilled, grilled chicken, grilled chicken with spices & cream, grilled with spices, indian, indian appetizer, kabab, kabob, kabob recipe, kebab, malai, malai chicken, malai tikka recipe, marinated chicken, Meat & Poultry, murg malai tikka kabab, murgh, murgh malai, snacks, starters, tikka, tikka kebab, tikka masala, yogurt

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Meat & Poultry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.