Topic: How good is YOUR tikka?

[joshallen2k]

I've been making chicken/lamb tikka for years, both as a standalone and as part of a curry. Nowadays I use a hybrid of the Blade and Dipuraja methods. I thought the most recent recipes on cr0 all seemed similar, and thus narrowing in on BIR standard. I've been happy with these.

Earlier this week, I went to a Pakistani restaurant here in Toronto Canada called Lahore Tikka. http://www.lahoretikkahouse.com/menu.html#Sizzling%20BBQ%20from%20our%20Tandoor

Though nowhere near BIR, their speciality is tikka meats from their tandoors. I ordered several different tikkas, and they were miles better than anything I have ever produced. The chunks were larger, and I could cut the meat with the side of a fork like it was butter. Spicing was similar to my home BIR efforts, but depth of flavour was far superior.

I'm wondering what could be causing the huge gap between their tikka and mine... Does the tandoor make that big a difference? Are they somehow tenderizing the meat?

How does your tikka compare to what you get in your locals?

--- Josh

PS - and before anyone asks, I have not tried the Brain Masala  :-X

[Malc.]

Without doubt the Tandoor will make a huge difference on the texture and that succulent chicken, especially if cooked fresh! I often cook my chicken in the oven which hits about 260c and at a short cooking cycle of say 12-15 mins, depending on the size of chicken, I always get juicy chicken.


I'll also hazzard a guess that they don't have any pots of Pataks anywhere in the kitchen!


I'm happy with my tikka texturally and taste wise but it never stands up to the experience of it being served fresh from a charcoal fired tandoor and served on a cast iron sizzler, how could it compete with that!

[mr.mojorisin]

I'd go along with Axe regarding the charcoal sizzle...hard to beat.

I cook blades tikka every week and for me it's as near as you'll get from home cooked tikka.

one thing I do is, after the chicken comes out from the grill, I leave it on the skewer and hold it over a flame on my hob until it "burns" around the edges like it has came out of a tandoor.

I believe this imparts a more realistic flavour and if I was to do a blind taste test with one piece "burned" and one piece not then the "burned" one would win hands down every time.

[joshallen2k]

Good adds guys. I had not considered an "extra singe" at the gas flame after cooking.

Out of curiosity, can anyone say definitively or not, whether tikka should be cooked on the barbecue or in the oven (in lieu of a tandoor)?

- Josh

[jb]

Better than most restaurants near where I live! Seriously after trying a lot of complicated tikka recipes I'm now settled on Blade's one.Most places I go to to serve bland tikka now,I don't know why perhaps my tastes have changed or they don't marinade long enough or just simply cut corners.However one thing I would say is that I do have my own tandoori oven and the the flavour of tikka not cooked in one doesn't compare.My old efforts in a domestic oven made the tikka a little tough whereas now it's very succulent.It's better to cook large bits of chicken(I cut my breasts in half) and then cut them after cooking,that way there's less risk of small bits of chicken becoming tough or dying out....

[976bar]

Hi Josh,

I swear by the BBQ in lieu of the tandoor. However, I have a gas BBQ, so I always have a tin tray in the BBQ which I fill with charcoal and light.

When the charcoal has turned white, I fire up the gas and put the skewered chicken on the grill and close the lid for about 8 minutes. This ensures I get that smokey flavour which I think is paramount for tikka.

My pre-cooked chicken is cooked in a hot oven for around 12 minutes just like Axe does with his tikka. I like to not cook the meat right through if using in curries as I like to finish the cooking process in the curry itself, thus ensuring moist tender meat in the final curry.

Have you thought about taking some of your tikka to the restaurant and striking up a conversation with them? You may be able to gleam some secrets from them

[fried]

I use a grill at the highest setting, blast it for 5 mins then do the edges with one of those mini kichen blow torches, turn and repeat. It's definitly worth leaving the chicken in large pieces.

Having said that I don't have a garden and if I did I'f use a bbq.

[Malc.]

Josh, I have tried both grill and oven and always get better results from the oven. My oven does get quite hot though as I mentioned. I find that the grill tends to dry the meat out before it is cooked properly.

[JerryM]

as per jb cut in half lengthways and cook on skewer. gas bbq is good enough, 3 day marinade for best result. pataks or not either produces top notch results.

doesn't help but most BIR in UK serve poor tikka even from tandoor - it's tuff and overcooked.