Have you tried making Chicken Tikka in an Air Fryer? If not, it's surely worth a try and highly recommended. This homemade Chicken Tikka made in the air fryer tastes exceptional and requires minimal effort.
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Why you will love this recipe?
- Cooking in an air fryer makes the whole process simple and hassle-free without any mess.
- The Chicken Tikka masala recipe uses chicken tikka cooked on a grill pan. The marination used in both recipes is the same. Here, we use wooden skewers (soaked) to skew and cook the chicken and veggies.
- Add it to the Chicken tikka masala and you have a gravy or serve it on the side as an appetizer.
- Roll the leftover chicken tikka into a tortilla or flatbread with salad.
- It uses very little oil and is good for you, just like the chicken tandoori grilled or oven-baked if you watch your calories.
Ingredients needed
- Boneless chicken - Cut into small cubes neither too thick nor too thin so that you can easily thread it in the skewer.
- Yogurt - Drain the yogurt of all the whey, it should be thick with no water content.
- Ginger garlic paste fresh or store-bought. Fresh will taste better.
- Spices like Red chili powder (Kashmiri for the color), Garam masala, Turmeric powder, and Tandoori Masala (Shaan's brand)
- Dried fenugreek leaves give a nice flavor.
- Lemon small sized freshly squeezed into the marinade
- Other veggies like onion and bell pepper that you like to add to the skewer.
- Kitchen staples melted butter, oil, and salt
How to make Chicken Tikka in Air Fryer?
Marination for Chicken Tikka
We first start with marination. Use boneless chicken in this recipe as we can skew it easily. The longer the chicken sits in the marinade, the better.
The marinade consists of hung curd, ginger-garlic paste, spices like turmeric and Kashmiri red chilly powder, dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala chicken, lemon juice, and oil. Add Bell peppers and onions to the same marinade and skew together.
Cooking Chicken Tikka in the air fryer
Preheat the Air Fryer to 355 degrees for 5 minutes. Arrange the chicken tikka skewers in the bottom of the air fryer basket with enough room between each. Spray or brush them with a little oil or melted butter.
I set the air fryer to 355°F and cook it for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. If you prefer less char on the chicken and veggies, you can cook for 10 to 12 minutes instead. Be sure to check periodically and ensure the chicken is fully cooked, not underdone.
Step-by-Step Process for Airfryer Chicken Tikka
- Steps 1-3: Combine yogurt, ginger garlic paste, and all spices in a large bowl and mix well. Add chicken, onions diced bell pepper, and let it marinate.
- Step 4: Thread the chicken and veggies onto skewers that have been previously soaked in water. Brush them with oil or melted butter.
- Step 5: Line the skewers in an air fryer. Pre-heat for about 5 mins at 355 degrees F and air-fry for 15 mins with the turn option on so you can turn the tikkas mid-way.
- Step 6: Transfer to a bowl, brush with butter or oil, and squeeze some lemon juice and chaat masala.
Some Useful Tips
- If using wooden skewers be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to an hour to avoid overheating or becoming fire-hazardous in the air fryer.
- If the wooden skewers are too long to fit in the air fryer cut the ends so they fit in.
- Don't overstuff the skewer and leave some space in between the pieces of meat and veggies so the hot air can flow freely during the cooking process.
- It's a good idea to set the "turn" option in the air fryer so you can check the cooking mid-way and flip it to make the changes as necessary.
- After taking them out of the air fryer, brush with some melted butter or oil so they remain moist, and juicy and taste awesome.
If you love this recipe you may also love the Grilled Paneer Tikka which uses a similar marinade but on a grill pan. Serve Chicken Tikka along with Ghee Rice Neyy chor, Quinoa Pulav, or Layered Vegetable biryani .
Recipe FAQs
You can re-heat air fried chicken tikka in the air fryer at 355 degrees for 5 minutes.
The internal temperature should be at 165 degrees using a thermometer.
Use oil in the marinade along with the other seasonings so it helps retain the moisture.
Make sure to space out the skewers evenly and keep space between each of the chicken pieces and veggies when you skew so that the heat is evenly distributed to cook them well in the air fryer.
You can add the leftover chicken tikka to tomato and onion gravy to make a delicious chicken tikka masala.
You can also make a tortilla wrap with the leftover chicken tikka, and veggies or add it to a salad. This would make a great lunch box meal.
Vegetarians can substitute chicken with paneer in this recipe.
If you tried this Air fryer Chicken Tikka Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Chicken Tikka in Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken boneless cut evenly
- 1 cup yogurt drained with no water content
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 3 tsp Red Chili powder Kashmiri
- 1 tbsp Tandoori masala Shaan 's brand (optional)
- ¼ tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp salt or as needed
- ½ tsp fenugreek leaves dried
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 small lemon juice squeezed
- 1 small capsicum cut into small triangles
- 1 onion cut into small triangles
- ¼ tsp chaat masala optional
Instructions
- Wash and cut the chicken into small pieces
- Make a marinade of all the spices , yogurt , ginger garlic paste.
- Mix all the ingredients into the chicken for marination
- Marinate for about 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Skew the chicken and veggies into wooden skewers (previously soaked in water)
- Pre-heat the air fryer for about 5 mins at 355 degress F
- Arrange the skewers in the bottom of the air fryer basket
- Spray some butter or oil if desired
- Air fry at 355 for 15 min (use turn option for half way )
- Around half way through the air fryer will promp to check
- After flipping , close the air fryer to complete the rest of the cooking
- After it is done , take them out and again brush with butter or oil , sprinkle some chaat masala (optional) and serve hot with rice or rotis.
Video
Notes
- If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to an hour to prevent them from overheating or becoming a fire hazard in the air fryer.
- If the wooden skewers are too long to fit in the air fryer cut the ends so they fit in.
- Cut the chicken and veggies into even pieces so they cook thoroughly.
- Don't overstuff the skewer and leave some space in between the pieces of meat and veggies so the hot air can flow freely during the cooking process.
- It's a good idea to set the "turn" option in the air fryer so you can check how well it is being cooked mid-way and flip it to make the changes as necessary.
- After they are cooked and out of the air fryer, brush them with some melted butter or oil so they remain moist, and juicy and taste awesome.
- The leftover chicken tikka can be added to tomato and onion-based gravy to make a delicious chicken tikka masala.
- You can also make a tortilla wrap with the leftover chicken tikka, and veggies or add it to a salad or even to a homemade fajita. This would make a great lunch box meal.
- Vegetarians can substitute chicken with paneer in this recipe.
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
This is such a great recipe and I love that I could make it in the air fryer.
Wow! This chicken tikka dish looks absolutely delicious! Plus it's easy to make and cook with our very reliable air fryer! I definitely will make it this weekend! Thanks and loved it!
I love making an easy yet delicious dish on my Air Fryer. A perfect dish to make for this weekend.
This looks so good and tasty! I can't wait to make this on my new Air Fryer!
What a great idea that was! Recipe was spot on!
Absolutely loved how easy it was to cook Chicken Tikka in the air fryer - it was incredibly juicy and perfectly charred!
I would have never thought to make Chicken Tikka in the Air Fryer. I love this idea so much! Especially since my skewers tend to burn..even when I soak them. This recipe should help solve that problem!
This tikka masala is so delicious! I made it with paneer and veggies- yum!
This recipe is a great new way for my family to have chicken! I love using my airfryer when I can too so thank you for this!