Shortcut Baked Chicken Tikki Thighs Recipe: Smoky, Sweet & Spicy by Jan Mostrom

This baked chicken tikki recipe is a common dish in India and Pakistan, but usually prepared in a tandoori oven using bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs. This easier preparation keeps all the beautiful flavors of chicken tikka, but makes it substantially easier to make and cleanup!

The yogurt is a meat tenderizer and the spices are smoky, sweet and just a bit spicy in this chicken recipe. You can marinate for 30 minutes or do what I did and prep it the night before so you just have to pop it right into the broiler the next evening!

To make this sheet-pan recipe you will need full-fat Greek yogurt, ginger paste or fresh ginger, garlic paste or fresh garlic, Kashiri red chile powder, garam masala, ground cumin, ground turmeric, salt, cooking oil, boneless chicken thighs, bell peppers, red onions and cumin seeds. After marinating, the chicken cooks up in the oven in about 20 minutes.

Serve this Indian-inspired recipe for dinner over rice (or your favorite grain) or your favorite side dishes.

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Cuisine: Indian / Pakistani
Prep Time: 15 minutes plus 30 minutes (minimum) to marinate
Cook Time: 14 to 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes plus time to marinate
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Marinade 

• 2 tablespoons full-fat Greek or Indian yogurt
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste or 1-inch piece freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste or 2 freshly grated or minced garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chile powder (see Recipe Notes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil (vegetable, grape seed or avocado oil work well)

Chicken and Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 large bell peppers, chopped into 1-inch pieces (green, red, yellow or orange)
• 2 red onions, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• salt
• cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Recipe Notes

• If you don’t have Kashmiri red chile powder you can use regular chili powder, ancho chili powder or paprika instead. Don’t use cayenne pepper as it’s much hotter than Kashmiri and crushed red pepper flakes won’t really make the combination of flavors we are looking for here.

• You can easily make the rice ahead of time and reheat it to put under the chicken. I most often have packs of frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's in my freezer so I don’t have to make the rice ahead.

• Check out this simple Instant Pot™ yogurt recipe. It’s so easy and you will always have some on hand for recipes or breakfast!

Here's how to make it: 

1. Make the marinade by mixing ingredients together. Place marinade on top of the chicken in a casserole or plastic bag and thoroughly coat the thighs. Cover and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.
   
2. When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to broil with the rack about 3 inches from the heat. Put the vegetables onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil, a bit of salt and the cumin seeds. Toss to coat. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables (make sure to include any marinade you can) and broil for 7 to 9 minutes per side. Check to make sure the temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees F when finished.
   
3. Serve over cooked rice, if desired, and drizzled with any juices that might have accumulated on the pan. Enjoy!
   
   

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. This recipe has been analyzed by HappyForks. However, any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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