Sheet-Pan Chicken Tikka Thighs 

By Zainab Shah

Updated June 11, 2024

  • Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Rating
5(3,523)
Comments
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Commonly cooked in restaurants and street stalls across India and Pakistan, chicken tikka is typically prepared with marinated bone-in pieces and cooked on coals or in a tandoor. This preparation of chicken tikka uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs and a broiler for the same effect — layered, slightly smoky flavor from charred edges of otherwise juicy, tender chicken thighs. With minimal cleanup, this dish is delicately sweet, deeply spiced and has a confetti of textures. The chicken is marinated in ginger, garlic and a mix of heady South Asian spices — red chile powder, cumin, garam masala — and yogurt is used as a tenderizer. Thirty minutes of marination does the trick but overnight is better. Bell pepper and onions sweeten during broiling and their edges char and crisp up too. Plus, juices from the spiced chicken further flavor the vegetables. Eat any leftovers in a salad or sandwich. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 2 tablespoons full-fat Greek or Indian yogurt

  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger

  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste or freshly grated garlic

  • 1 ½ teaspoons Kashmiri red chile powder

  • 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala

  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • Salt

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

  • 2 large bell peppers, chopped into 1-inch pieces

  • 1 red onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

24 grams carbs; 108 milligrams cholesterol; 315 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 688 milligrams sodium; 26 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, ginger, garlic, chile powder, garam masala, ground cumin, turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon oil. Add the chicken and stir until the thighs are completely coated. Using a fork, thoroughly stab the chicken thighs so the marinade may penetrate the meat. Set aside for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight to marinate.

  2. Step 2

    On a medium sheet pan, about 13- by 9-inches, toss the bell peppers and onion with the cumin seeds and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Lay the ingredients out in a single layer. Using a fork, hold up a chicken thigh over the bowl and scrape the excess marinade off with another fork, and lay it on the vegetables. Repeat the process for the remaining thighs.

  3. Step 3

    Turn the broiler on high. Place the sheet pan on a rack about 3 inches below the broiler. Broil for 7 to 10 minutes. Flip the thighs and broil for another 7 to 10 minutes, until parts of the chicken and vegetables are charred and crisp on the outside and chicken is cooked through (when a thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh reads 165 degrees). Serve with rice or as is, spooning the juices from the sheet pan over the chicken as sauce.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,523 user ratings
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Comments

Ann

For anyone not familiar with it, Kashmiri Red Chile powder is not spicy. It's much more like paprika, so if you can't find Kashmiri chile powder, maybe just use paprika and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper.

Squirrel Butler

Just a heads-up (that most of you already know, but some may not, hence this note!) that dark meat (chicken thighs, legs) are best cooked to an internal temp of at least 175-180, with many credible sites saying 180-190. Spruce Eats, America's Test Kitchen, Epicurious and many more give that advice, as the higher temp breaks down the connective tissue in dark meat and makes the texture far better. It won't be dried out, unlike breast meat cooked to 180 or more

tanrw

Doubled all the spices and used a single serve cup of Greek yoghurt, baked at 300 for 20/25 mins before broiling both sides. I also did the vegetables separately at 400 for 15/20 mins and put them under the broiler for the last 5 mins - turned out perfect and the marinade was delicious! Will be making this again

D DEIS

I made this last night and doubled the marinade recipe as suggested by others, and first baked the chicken on 350 for 20 min before broiling for several minutes on each side to get the crispy char - also suggested. Served over rice made with chicken stock and some marinate and cilantro mixed in. Outstanding dish-one of the best recipes we have had in quite a while.

Peaches

Tonight I used European-style yogurt — very liquid — instead of strained. It worked out well. Maybe even better than with Greek yogurt! Letting the chicken marinate on the counter yielded a much more succulent texture than when I have refrigerated this for hours. I serve this win naan, heated over a gas flame. Delicious!

AJNM

Delicious and will cook again. Alterations that I tried this first time and will repeat - cut thighs in half, used Cayenne instead of Kashmiri Chile, roasted at 380 for 35 minutes (turning once) before broiling on each side. Instead of onion and bell pepper, roasted sliced and oiled potatoes and sliced, oiled, curry dusted zuchinni in separate pans underneath the chicken. Everything was ready at the same time.

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