Restaurant Style Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

400 gm Skinless boneless chicken pieces ( 2 medium breast pieces)
2 tbs Fresh lemon/lime juice
½ - ¾ tsp Salt
2 tbs Greek yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tbs ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 ts ground turmeric
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp - 1 tsp methy leaves crushed (fenugreek leaves)
Few drops of orange red food colour (optional)
2-3 tbsp butter, melted or ghee
2 tomatoes, cored, and flesh scooped out
2 onions cut into squares
Extra lemon/lime juice to squeeze on the kebabs.
6 Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for an hour (6- to 8-inch)


DIRECTIONS: 

1. Wash the chicken and place it n a colander to drain off excess water. Wipe off the excess water using a kitchen towel and cut the chicken into 2" thickness.  Combine chicken, lemon juice and salt in a bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes. 

2. Mix Greek yogurt, minced garlic and ginger, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder in small bowl. Add food colour and mix well. Add in the chicken cubes and stir until chicken is well coated with spice mixture.

3. Refrigerate chicken at least 3 hours or overnight. I usually marinate it overnight to let the flavours steep in.

4. Preheat the grill to 200ºC. Thread chicken on skewers, alternating with onion wedges and cubed tomatoes.

5. Brush chicken and vegetables with melted butter. Grill kebabs until well cooked, turning frequently, and applying butter in between. Cook until you see brown spots here and there. It will take about 20 minutes. Keep checking for doneness in between, as overcooking them can make them dry and ruin the taste. Squeeze lemon juice once they are done, if required. You can also sprinkle little garam masala to boost up the spice level.

Notes and tips:
1. The bamboo sticks should be soaked in cold water to prevent the wood from burning while cooking.

2. If you have no skewers, just lay the kebabs flat on a baking tray and cook till done, turning sides and basting with melted butter or ghee every time you turn, to keep them juicy.

3. You can also pan fry them in little oil, if you have no access to oven.

4. Make sure that there is no moisture in chicken at all prior to marinating