This has been on my radar since i first joined the forum. As for it not being BIR - why?? :
The only ingredient i haven't seen used in a tikka marinade is ground fennel / star anise. Everything else is quite common place.Since we know that this is used in some BIR's as a final addition, there's nothing to say that it may not be added to some BIR marinades. No pastes!!! Could that be the reason?? I only started using the stuff when i joined!!!! Until then it was PC's tandoori masala all the way and that has remained my TM of choice over the pre-packed stuff. That's only about 30 years ago
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Next lot of chicken tikka will be done using this recipe. One question i have though is how discernable is the sugar in the final taste, ie. does it add a slight sweetness to the finished tikka or does it simply merge into the overall flavour? Reason for asking, on a rare occasion i tried tikka, it was delicately spiced but had a sweetish after taste and was absolutely deliscious 
Hi CH
Good question...and quite hard to answer too! The sugar cancels out the bitterness of the vinegar in the mint sauce and also imparts a very slight sweetness to the tikka. I have played about with the quantity quite a bit in the past, but to my palette, the recipe quantity is just right.
This is a good example of why I have been slightly vague with the actual quantities, because I believe that my recipe is just a guideline as I expect that 90% of people will probably tweak the ingredients to their own personal tastes anyway.
I hope that goes some way to answering your question.
As said previously, I will sort out the exact quantities as soon as

Best Regards
Mick