Snacks & street food · Indian fusion

Chicken Tikka Salad

Smoky tandoori-spiced chicken, charred hot from the grill, on a crunchy salad of cucumber, onion, tomato and lettuce with a cool mint-yoghurt dressing.

Chicken Tikka Salad

Prep 20 min · Cook 15 min · Total 35 min + 30 min marinade · Serves 2

Ingredients

Tikka marinade

  • 350 g Boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
  • ¼ cup Thick plain yoghurt
  • 1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp Ground cumin
  • ½ tsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp Kasuri methi, crushed
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Oil

Mint-yoghurt dressing

  • ½ cup Plain yoghurt
  • ½ cup Mint leaves
  • ¼ cup Coriander leaves
  • 1 Green chilli
  • ½ tsp Roasted cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp Chaat masala
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp Salt

Salad

  • 1 Small head of cos or romaine lettuce, torn
  • 1 Cucumber, sliced into half moons
  • 1 Small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 10 Cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ Pomegranate, seeds only
  • ½ tsp Chaat masala

Method

  1. Marinate. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and leave for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight in the fridge.
  2. Blend the dressing. Blend the mint, coriander, chilli, lemon juice and 2 tbsp of the yoghurt to a smooth paste, then stir it into the rest of the yoghurt with the cumin, chaat masala and salt. Loosen with a splash of water so it pours.
  3. Prep the salad. Soak the sliced onion in iced water for 10 minutes to take off the sharpness, then drain. Arrange the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and onion on a platter.
  4. Char the chicken. Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan until very hot and brush with oil. Cook the chicken in a single layer, without crowding, for 5 to 6 minutes a side until charred at the edges and cooked through. You can also thread it on skewers and grill under a hot grill for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once.
  5. Assemble. Pile the hot chicken over the salad, drizzle with the dressing, scatter over pomegranate seeds and a pinch of chaat masala and serve at once, with more dressing on the side.

Tips

Thighs stay juicy on high heat where breast can dry out. Shake off excess marinade before cooking so the chicken chars instead of stewing.