This chicken tikka masala wrap is pretty easy to make, since we’re taking a shortcut: we’re using a pre-made tikka masala spice mix to cut down on the prep time. We’re also using boneless chicken thighs, making for a deliciously juicy, well-spiced flavor bomb that doesn’t take hours to make.
Everyone that knows me pretty much knows how much I love spices and well-spiced food. It’s not even a choice.
While mild flavors are great for fancier affairs and impressing the in-laws, when you’re really hungry you want some really great, strong-flavored food.
I try my best not to make it too spicy for our family, but, as with most foods that I make, there’ll be some hints of spiciness here.
We’ve made loads of curries here on MeyerFoodBlog (such as our popular South Indian chicken curry or sweet and spicy coconut chicken curry), but this time we decided to switch it up a bit.
Instead of making the spices from scratch, we decided to try out a spice mix to help us cut down on the prep time for the tikka masala wrap.
And, boy, was that a great decision.
This means that now we don’t have to find and prepare all the different spices that are usually involved in your standard Indian food.
Instead, we can still have great food while spending less time preparing it.
Here’s what we’re doing with our chicken tikka masala wrap:
- get some boneless, skinless chicken thighs (chicken breast dries up on the grill)
- cut them up into quarters
- marinate them overnight (or at least 4 hours)
- make raita
- grill chicken
- add veggies (tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers)
- wrap chicken, raitia and veggies in your favorite tortilla
See? You save time by buying the essentials (tikka masala spice mix and tortillas), but you still get that flavor bomb to really impress your crowd.
The double marinade for the tikka masala wrap
There is one thing worth mentioning here, though: the double marinade.
It’s something that I’ve done quite a bit recently, and I believe it really helps allow the chicken to incorporate the most flavors.
In this technique, you prepare the boneless, skinless thighs by cutting them into quarters (larger than bite size).
Then, you marinate the chicken first with a combination of lemon juice, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper.
The chicken will marinade here for about 15 minutes while you do the main yogurt marinade, and then you place that all in the fridge (hopefully overnight).
This double marinade technique really ensures that your chicken tikka masala wrap has the strong flavor that can often get lost in wraps (because people pile on sauces and veggies).
Also, if you’re not willing to grill, you can simply broil the chicken in a hot oven for about 5-10 minutes each side, until nicely browned and cooked throughout.
Chicken Tikka Masala Wrap
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs (500g)
- tomatoes onions, cucumbers, sliced
- 8 tortillas
First marinade
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Yogurt marinade
- 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt at least 7%
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 pack 35g Santa Maria Tikka Masala Spice Mix (or your favorite brand, equal to 5 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp garam masala paste optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
Raita
- 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt at least 7%
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small cucumber grated
- mint leaves about 10
- 1/4 tsp cumin optional
Instructions
- First, wash and cut the chicken into 3 or 4 pieces (depending on the size). Place in a large bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 1/4 tsp of cayenne, 1/4 tsp of paprika, and salt and pepper to the chicken. Make sure all the chicken is covered in the first marinade.
- In a separate bowl, add 1 cup of Greek yogurt. Then add in the crushed garlic, tikka masala spice mix, cayenne and paprika, and garam masala paste (optional, but when grilled it adds a nice extra layer of flavor). You may want to adjust flavors here: you want to taste the lemon and make sure the flavor is punchy.
- Add the yogurt marinade to the chicken thighs, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Make the raita by adding all ingredients into a bowl. Here, you want to have a good balance between the mint and the lemon juice, so that neither is overpowering. The longer the raita stands, the stronger the flavors of mint and garlic will get, so remember to take that into account. The raita should be a calm counterpoint to the strong chicken, but it should be able to stand on its own as well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- When you're ready to cook, prepare the grill. Add chicken on skewers (should be about 4 pieces per serving) and grill until nicely browned and cooked through. To prepare vegetables: slice tomatoes into 8ths (depending on size) and cut onions thinly.
- To eat, simply add tikka masala on tortilla, add raita sauce, then top with veggies.
- Bon appetit!
