Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Lehsuni Murg Tikka
Lehsuni Murg Tikka (Garlic-flavoured Chicken)

Lehsuni Murg Tikka

Garlic-flavoured Chicken
Non-vegetarian●●●Origin PunjabPrep 30 minutes, plus marinating timeCook 10-15 minutes

Succulent chicken skewers marinated in a punchy garlic and yellow chilli paste, bound with roasted flour and grilled until tender and smoky.

Marinade spices

75 gMixed with lemon juice and salt in step 1
Stir together into a uniform paste.

Everything else

01
15 g3 teaspoons
souring agent
03
100 g
flour
04
183 g200 ml
oil/fat
05
to taste
dairy
06
to taste
salt

Method

  1. In a broad shallow dish, combine the marinade spices with 15.3 g lemon juice and salt to taste. Rub the mixture thoroughly over 750 g chicken breasts to coat every piece evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. Transfer the marinated chicken to a tray and mix in 100 g roasted flour until distributed, followed by 183 g vegetable oil, tossing until well coated.
  3. Set up a charcoal grill, tandoor, or oven broiler to medium heat. Thread the chicken pieces onto metal skewers over a drip tray and grill for 6 minutes, until partially cooked.
  4. Take the skewers off the heat and suspend them upright for 2 to 3 minutes so excess moisture can run off.
  5. Rest the skewers over a dish, brush all over with melted butter to taste, and return to the grill or tandoor for another 4 minutes until thoroughly cooked. Plate and serve hot.

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Garlic paste
  • Garlic

    Use equal weight; crush or finely grate to a smooth pulp to replicate the same fresh, pungent moisture in your base gravy.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 20 to 25% of the weight; mix with a teaspoon of water before adding to oil so it does not burn, noting it lacks the fresh bite.

Yellow chilli powder
  • Green chilli

    Use 100% of the weight, finely minced or ground into a smooth paste. Provides sharp heat while preserving the light colour of delicate kormas.

  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use 50% to 75% of the weight. It brings mild heat but will turn pale or white sauces noticeably orange-red.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use 50% of the weight. Gives strong, sharp heat, but will stain cream-based or yellow Mughlai gravies red.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

Boneless chicken breast
  • Boneless chicken thigh

    Use same weight; thigh is juicier, so cook 5 minutes longer and the dish will be less dry.

  • Boneless chicken leg

    Use same weight, cut into even pieces and simmer 5–8 minutes longer.

  • Boneless chicken piece

    Use same weight, cut into bite-sized pieces; cooking time depends on size, so keep pieces even.

Gram flour
  • Chickpea flour

    Use the same weight. Gram flour is chickpea flour, so this is an exact swap with the same nutty flavour and binding.

  • Plain flour

    Use about 75–80% of the weight, e.g. 80 g for 100 g gram flour, and add a pinch of turmeric for colour. Less nutty and less crisp; good only for thickening or simple batters.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crispness, but it does not bind like gram flour; mix with a little plain flour if making pakora batter.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Melted butter
  • Melted ghee

    Use the same weight; nuttier and keeps better. Reduce salt if the butter was salted.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 80% of the weight; no dairy flavour and less richness. Good for frying, less good for finishing.

  • Melted unsalted butter

    Use the same weight; adjust salt in the dish if your butter was salted.

Similar dishes

Kali Mirch ka Murg
Pepper Chicken in Thick Sauce
Kali Mirch ka Murg tastes warm, pungent, and peppery from black peppercorns and onions rather than intensely garlicky, sharp, and smoky.
  • Same: Kali Mirch ka Murg shares chicken, vegetable oil, garlic paste, and lemon juice with this dish.
  • Different: Unlike this dry, grilled tikka marinated in heavy garlic paste and yellow chilli powder, Kali Mirch ka Murg is a stovetop curry cooked with onions, ginger paste, and black peppercorns.
Murg Parche
Spicy Chicken Supremes
Murg Parche has a milder, herbal heat with a creamy dairy tang instead of the intense garlic pungency, citrus sourness, and smoky char of this dish.
  • Same: Both dishes are chicken preparations seasoned with garlic, chillies, salt, and vegetable oil.
  • Different: Murg Parche uses yogurt, ginger paste, and fresh green chillies instead of lemon juice and yellow chilli powder, contains far less oil and garlic, and is pan-fried or steamed rather than skewered and grilled.
Murg Dalcha Kebab
Chicken & Lentil Kebabs
Murg Dalcha Kebab tastes creamier and earthier from the lentil puree, yoghurt and cream, with a milder garlic hit and warmer spice notes than this dish's punchy garlic and yellow chilli flavour.
  • Same: Murg Dalcha Kebab shares chicken breast, lemon juice, garlic, yellow chilli powder, vegetable oil, melted butter and salt with this dish.
  • Different: Murg Dalcha Kebab adds chana dal, hung yoghurt, single cream, ginger paste, garam masala and nutmeg, and it double-marinates the chicken instead of binding it with gram flour like this dish; it also uses much less garlic paste and vegetable oil.
Tandoori Murg
Grilled (Broiled) Chicken
Tandoori Murg is tangier and more warmly spiced from the chaat masala and garam masala, rather than intensely garlicky with sharp yellow chilli heat like this dish.
  • Same: Tandoori Murg also features smoky grilled chicken seasoned with garlic paste, lemon juice, and vegetable oil.
  • Different: Tandoori Murg roasts whole chicken with ginger paste, garam masala, and finishing chaat masala, omitting the roasted flour and yellow chilli powder while using much less garlic paste than this dish.