Name: Chicken Tikka
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 675 g (1.5 lb ) skinless and boneless chicken breast , diced into cubes; 1 tbsp mustard seed oil (see notes); 50 ml (2 fl oz ) milk; 150 ml (5 fl oz ) natural yoghurt; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves); 4 large cloves of garlic , finely chopped; 1–4 chopped fresh red chillis (depending on strength of the chillis and the desired strength of the marinade); 2 tsp paprika; 2 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp cumin powder; ½ tsp turmeric; 1 tsp salt (use rock salt for best results)

Why it works: Lemon and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,498 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lemon + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,498 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Tomato + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,967 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Coriander + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,474 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Mustard + garlictop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,053 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breast: Provides the lean protein that is cooked through and becomes the dish's main body.
Natural yoghurt: Tenderises the chicken and helps the marinade cling to the meat.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the marinade and helps tenderise the surface of the meat.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that deepens the savoury flavour of the marinade.
Paprika: Contributes colour and mild sweetness, helping the surface take on a reddish browning.

The step that matters

Cook the chicken through on skewers. Lean breast meat dries out quickly over high heat, so it should be cooked just until done, checked at the thickest piece. Overcooking toughens the protein and makes the marinade's moisture escape.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, mustard, milk, lemon, tomato, coriander, garlic):

Cuminfits better
Thymefits better
Cardamomfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, mustard, milk, lemon, tomato, coriander, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Coriander	not in our table	0

Chicken Tikka

Chicken Tikka

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate

Cook and serve

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)