Punjabi Malai Chicken Tikka

Serves: 6-7

Ingredients:

500 gms Boneless Chicken - cut into 1 1/2" pieces
or you can also use 500 gms of chicken breasts (3) - cut into 2" pieces

For Marinade:
3/4 cup thick cream
1/4 tsp green cardamom powder (seeds of 2-3 chhoti iIIaichi - crushed)
1 tsp white or black pepper powder
1 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
3 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp amchoor
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 green chillies - crushed, optional

For BASTING (POURING ON THE KEBABS)
2 tbsp melted butter or oil

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade- cream, chhoti illaichi powder, white pepper, ginger-garlic paste, cornflour, melted butter,garam masala, amchoor, jeera powder, salt and green chillies.
2.Marinate chicken covered with a plastic wrap/cling film for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
3.Heat an oven at 180°C or heat a gas tandoor on gas for 15 minutes on low heat.
4. Place the well coated chicken pieces on the grill or skewer the chicken pieces.
Roast for 10 minutes or until cooked, thoroughly basting (pouring) with melted butter or oil at least once in between. Roast for another 5 minutes.
5.Sprinkle chaat masala and serve hot with poodina chutney or garnished papadums.

Imp Note:

• Grilling or roasting should be done on constant moderate heat, otherwise it toughens the protein of the meat, making the kebabs shrink and turn hard. Always grease the wire rack or grill nicely with oiltoavoidthe kebabs sticking to the grill .
  
• Cover the tray beneath the wire rack or the skewers with aluminium foil to collect the drippings of the tikkas.