Chicken Tikka

• Prepare the marinade by mixing drained curd, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, vegetable oil, turmeric powder, cumin powder, red chili, pepper powder, garam masala, chaat masala, and besan in a blender jar and blend at a low speed for 30 seconds.
• Wash and cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Set it aside in a strainer so that the water is drained.
• Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour the marinade on it. Refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring the chicken occasionally so that it is coated with the marinade evenly.
• Preheat the grill at medium-high temperature.
• Take out the chicken from the marinade and thread 3-4 pieces of chicken on each skewer.
• Grill the chicken for 5 minutes. Turn the skewers and grill for another 5 minutes.
• Remove chicken tikka from grill and serve on a platter.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Trivia

Garam masala is an important ingredient in the chicken tikka marinate. It is a hot spice which adds a magical warm spicy flavor to food. It is a blend of many exotic spices like cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, etc.

Cardamom is ranked as the third most expensive spice in the world. The Western Ghats in India are considered as the birthplace of cardamom and are also known as cardamom hills. Cardamom was introduced to Guatemala by a German coffee planter before the first world war. Guatemala is now the largest producer of this exotic spice in the world followed by India.