Tikka Vs Tandoori Chicken: The Ultimate Grilling Showdown

A key difference in Indian cooking is the type of marinade used to flavor the meat.
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When it comes to differentiating chicken tikka and tandoori, do you really know how?
Don’t worry, this article will satisfy any chicken-lover by providing useful information about these two delicious dishes and weigh down to see which one is better.
What is tikka?
Chicken tikka is a popular Indian dish that consists of grilled chunks of marinated chicken.
It is traditionally served with naan bread and sides such as raita, onion salad, cucumber yogurt dip, and chutneys or pickles.
The word “tikka” comes from the Persian word for “pieces.”
Tikka is made by marinating pieces of chicken in yogurt and spices before cooking them on a skewer over an open flame.
The meat is then blended with tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and cilantro to create this delicious dish.
What does chicken tikka taste like?
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Chicken tikka is a spicy chicken dish that’s made with boneless chicken breast, marinated in yogurt and spices.
It’s usually cooked in a tandoor (a clay oven), but it can be baked or grilled as well.
Chicken tikka is often served with naan or rice.
Chicken tikka is probably the most popular Indian dish in North America.
It’s often served as an appetizer or side dish, but it can also be part of a larger meal.
You can serve chicken tikka with naan (flatbread), rice, or roti (a type of bread).
What is tandoori?
Tandoori is a type of Indian cuisine that originated in the Punjab region.
It consists mainly of chicken, lamb, or fish cooked over an open flame and baked in clay ovens called tandoors.
Tandoori chicken is an Indian dish that can be enjoyed in many ways.
Its name comes from the tandoor clay ovens that are typically used to cook it.
The cooking process involves marinating the chicken in yogurt or a thick sauce, which gives it its distinctive red color and rich flavor.
What does chicken tandoori taste like?
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Tandoori chicken is a traditional Indian dish made with marinated chicken cooked in a tandoor (a clay oven).
It’s typically served with naan and other Indian dishes.
Tandoori chicken is one of the most popular dishes at Indian restaurants.
The dish is typically marinated in yogurt and spices and then cooked on a skewer, which is placed inside the tandoor (the clay oven).
The marinade for tandoori chicken contains ginger, garlic, lemon juice and other spices.
Is tikka a tandoor?
The answer to this question is complicated.
The first step in understanding the relationship between tandoori and tikka is to look at the origins of each word.
Tandoori, like many words in Indian languages, comes from Persian but it’s not clear whether it was borrowed directly or if there was an intermediary language during its journey from Persia to India.
Tikka, on the other hand, comes from Hindi and has its origins in a particular style of cooking meat on skewers (called “tikkas”).
So what does this mean?
It means that technically speaking—if you consider tikka as being one thing and not several different styles of marinated meat dish—then yes: tikka IS a kind of tandoori food!
But if you think about how people use these words today then things get more complicated again; different types of meats are cooked differently depending on their ingredient list (which might include yogurt), so for example chicken breast would be considered “tikka” while lamb chops would be considered “tandoori.” So basically: no one knows!
What are the differences between chicken tikka vs tandoori?
Main ingredients
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Tandoori chicken and tikka are both made using boneless, skinless chicken, not a full chicken.
The main difference is that tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt, while tikka is marinated in spices and lemon juice.
Tandoori chicken also gets its signature red color from a spice mixture called “masala” that contains chili powder, cumin seeds and other spices.
Tikka doesn’t have this spice mix; instead it gets its color from crushed red pepper flakes or paprika sprinkled on top of the dish before serving (or even left out completely).
Both dishes can be served whole or chopped up into smaller pieces—but either way they’re delicious!
Texture
The main difference between tandoori chicken and tikka is the way they’re cooked.
The word “tandoori” refers to cooking meat in a traditional clay oven called a tandoor, while “tikka” refers to cooking meat on skewers over an open flame or grill.
Tandoori chicken is cooked in a tandoor oven, which uses super-high temperatures to cook food quickly and evenly.
Tikka is usually made with boneless pieces of chicken breast (or other meats), marinated for a shorter period of time than tandoori chicken, then grilled or broiled in an oven until browned on all sides.
Because the meat is much more delicate than other cuts of meat used for grilling or roasting outside at home—think lamb chops or beef steak—it needs less time spent over high heat than you would use when making these other dishes using thicker cuts of meat like pork shoulder blade roast or chicken leg quarters.
In addition, tandoori chicken is typically served with a sauce made from yogurt and spices, while tikka is often served plain or with a chutney.
Taste & flavor
Tandoori chicken is a hot dish, whereas tikka masala is not.
Tandoori paste is an Indian spice blend used for making tikka masala and other dishes.
Tikka masala is a popular Indian dish that originated in Britain (but has been adopted by Indians).
It’s basically boneless chunks of chicken roasted in the oven with yogurt and spices, cooked in a creamy tomato sauce flavored with ginger, garlic and onion.
It is often served with naan bread and rice.
Tikka masala is a popular Indian dish that originated in Britain (but has been adopted by Indians).
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It’s basically boneless chunks of chicken roasted in the oven with yogurt and spices, cooked in a creamy tomato sauce flavored with ginger, garlic and onion.
Cooking method
Tandoori and tikka are both types of meat that are cooked in a tandoor, or traditional clay oven.
Tandoori is typically made with chicken, fish, or beef—usually boneless meat cut into pieces.
Tikka is usually made with boneless chicken breast, but can also include other meats like veal or lamb.
The method for tandoori and tikka is similar: the meat is marinated in a yogurt-based marinade that includes spices such as cayenne pepper and paprika.
The meat is then grilled over an open flame until it is cooked through to the desired doneness.
The cooking process for tandoori and tikka differs slightly because tandoori needs to be cooked at higher temperatures than tikka does: while both methods may be done at high temperatures, they are often done at different temperatures.
Nutritional value
The nutritional value of both tandoori and tikka depends on the preparation method used to cook them.
For example, grilled tandoori chicken may have more calories than grilled tikka because it’s cooked over an open flame rather than in an oven.
Also, the nutritional value of tandoori chicken depends on the type of marinade used to prepare it.
Some marinades contain sugar and fat, while others do not have any added sugar or fat.
The amount of fat in tikka depends on the type of meat used to make it as well as whether or not any additional ingredients like yogurt are added during preparation time.
Nutritionally, both dishes offer similar benefits.
They’re high in protein and low in fat, with tikka providing more niacin than tandoori (11 milligrams versus 7 milligrams).
Both have a significant amount of iron, with tikka having more than three times more than tandoori (6 milligrams versus 1.5 milligrams).
Tandoori chicken has more protein than tikka (16g vs 12g per 100g), while tikka has more carbs than tandoori (7g vs 5g).
Both have roughly the same amount of fat per 100g (21g for tandoori, 23g for tikka).
In terms of carbohydrates, it comes down to whether or not there are any added ingredients like bread or flour.
If there aren’t any added ingredients, then you’re left with a dish that contains about 2 grams of carbohydrates per serving—that’s about half as much as most other chicken dishes.
What’s really interesting is that both dishes contain almost identical amounts of sodium: 690mg per 100g of tandoori chicken, and 730mg per 100g of tikka.
So what’s the takeaway?
If you’re trying to lower your sodium intake or watch your carb intake closely, go with the tikka!
Herbs & spices
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Both tandoori and tikka are marinated in a spice mixture that is made from ground spices.
But the differences don’t stop there—the two dishes also use different herbs to flavor their meat.
Tandoori paste, which gives the dish its distinctive red color, is made from ground cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and chili powder.
Tikka paste (also known as masala) includes fresh mint leaves and lemon juice as well as allspice berries for added depth of flavor.
Additionally, crushed garlic and ginger add a touch of heat without overpowering the other flavors present in this Indian classic.
- Tandoori: used spices like cumin seed, coriander powder, paprika, turmeric powder and garlic paste.
- The meat is cooked in a red hot clay oven.
- Tikka: used spices like ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, cilantro powder and yogurt.
- The meat is cooked in a tandoori rotisserie or grill.
Is tikka paste same as tandoori paste?
To answer this question, we need to first explain exactly what tikka paste and tandoori paste are.
Tikka and tandoori are both spice mixes used to make chicken dishes in Indian cuisine.
But they’re not the same thing!
The two are quite distinct from each other:
- Tandoori paste uses a combination of cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fenugreek leaves (also known as methi) as its base—plus lesser ingredients like ginger powder or garlic powder depending on the recipe.
- It’s often used for marinating meat or fish before cooking it in a clay oven called a tandoor.
- In contrast, tikka masala is actually an Indian dish that originated in Britain after being adapted by British cooks who wanted to make Indian food more accessible for the Western palate.
- It contains tomatoes instead of methi leaves—which makes it spicier than most traditional North Indian recipes because tomatoes have capsaicinoids (the chemical compounds responsible for giving chile peppers their kick).
What are the similarities between chicken tikka vs tandoori?
Besides the main differences that mentioned above, chicken tikka and tandoori are actually a lot in common.
The essence of this fact is the chicken tikka is considered the boneless version of tandoori.
They both originated in India
Both tikka and tandoori chicken originated in India, but the differences between them are many.
Tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt, spices, and various other ingredients before being cooked in a tandoori clay oven.
The meat is often served with a sauce made from yogurt, ginger, garlic and other herbs.
Tikka is made by marinating chicken in spices before cooking it over an open flame or grill.
The most obvious difference between these two dishes is that tikka uses chicken while tandoori uses lamb or goat meat.
Tikka can be eaten plain or with a side of rice or naan bread while tandoori is usually served with raita (a yogurt-based salad).
They are both delicious and perfect to eat with rice or bread
Chicken tikka and tandoori are both delicious and perfect to eat with rice or bread.
They both come from the same place, India, but they’re different in that one is cooked in a tandoori oven and the other is cooked in a tikka oven.
Tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices before being grilled over an open flame.
It’s usually served with naan or paratha, which are flatbreads made with wheat flour.
Tikka chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices before being grilled over an open flame.
It’s usually served with naan or paratha, which are flatbreads made with wheat flour.
They are flavorful and typically served with fried rice or steamed rice on the side
Chicken tikka is a North Indian dish consisting of boneless chunks of chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, then grilled over an open flame.
Chicken tandoori is similar to chicken tikka, except it’s typically cooked in a clay oven called a tandoori.
Both chicken dishes have a spicy flavor that comes from the marinade used to prepare them.
The marinade can include lemon juice, garlic, ginger, cilantro, chili powder, paprika, and more!
Which one is better?
Both tandoori and tikka are Indian dishes that use chicken as the main ingredient.
The word ‘tandoor’ originates from Persian and means ‘clay oven’.
This refers to the way in which it is traditionally cooked, in a clay oven called a tandoor or kal (meaning stove).
However, some people also use other types of ovens such as gas stoves or even microwaves!
This means that there are lots of different ways to make both types of dish: depending on what kind of equipment you have available at home, choose whichever one best fits your needs.
This article has hopefully given you a newfound understanding of these two dishes and will help you decide which one to order the next time you’re at restaurant or make it at home.
Both are delicious, but there is definitely something special about each of them.
The exact answer for which one is better will be personal because it depends on your taste bud and preference.
Before deciding your more favorite option, just learn how to make authentic recipes of these two chicken dishes and give them a try, you won’t regret!