Chicken Malai boti is THE desi barbecue item to try. It is a melt-in-your-mouth, succulent, juicy, tender white chicken skewer made with traditional spices. It is super popular in the Pakistani Barbecue scene. It is an easy, make-ahead, freezer-friendly recipe that even teens can whip up.
If this is barbecue season in your area, you have found the perfect recipe to try. We love grilling! Mutton chops and chicken shashlik are my other barbecue favorites.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’d know I love creating fusion recipes. This chicken malai boti also inspired a Malai Pulao Rice that I think you’ll love.
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What is Malai boti
For my literal peeps, “Malai” means cream and “boti” means chunks of meat. The “cream” is to signify the color and the marination of this chicken, and also the soft, silky texture of this barbecue. A lot of restaurants also list it as Murgh malai tikka.
The chicken gets its characteristic white appearance from cream and yogurt, and specifically no use of red spices. You can make it on the outdoor grill or tandoor, which is how it is traditionally made. But if you are like me, then do it in a pan or the oven!
Ingredients
Most ingredients are pretty basic. Here are some notes on the key ingredients.
- Chicken – There is no preference for using a specific part of the chicken or cuts. They are traditionally made in boneless chunks in restaurants, but I’ve made malai boti using small bone in chicken pieces too. Works both ways!
- Spices – Malai boti is known for its characteristic white color on the inside, while charred and grilled on the outside. The spices used make sure to not add color to the chicken. We use
- Cream – Cream is the “malai”, so quite the namesake of this recipe. Use any thick or table cream available to you. For my readers in South Asia, you can also use actual malai (the thick yellow clotted cream that settles on top of cool non-homogenized milk)
- Tenderizer – The restaurant style malai boti gets it melt-in-your-mouth texture by adding a tenderzier. Chicken, doesn’t take long to tenderize so this is only for texture purposes. I used raw papaya paste as used traditionally. As substitutes, you can use tenderizer powder or kiwi paste.
- Green Chili & Lemon – Use serrano or Thai green chilies to pack heat. Skip the chilies to reduce the heat.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
NOTE: Most recipes you see online will have coriander leaves as one of the ingredients for malai boti. That’s a BIG NO NO. Coriander leaves give a greenish color to chicken and are not used in restaurant-style malai boti.
Instructions
I’ve put together all the steps in a simple pictorial for you to see how easy this is to make.
Step 1 – Add green chilies and yogurt to a blender.
Step 2 – Blend until smooth.
Step 3 – In a bowl, add the chicken to the chili yogurt mix.
Step 4 – Add all spices, seasonings, and tenderizer to the bowl.
Step 5 – Marinate the chicken well. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
Step 6 – After 30 minutes, thread the chicken onto a metal or wood skewer.
Step 7 – Grill the chicken malai boti on a non-stick skillet or pan at medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until charred on the outside.
Step 8 – Additionally, you can give coal smoke.
This Malai Boti is a star on its own. Serve hot with a good green mint chutney on the side and sliced onions and lemon wedges. Oo lala
Expert Tips
- Marination: These malai boti have a characteristic melt-in-your-mouth silky texture because of the papaya paste in the marination. If you aren’t going to grill the chicken right away, skip the papaya paste from the marinade. This is important! Chicken tends to tenderize very quickly. It only needs 30 minutes to 2 hours with papaya paste. So if you plan to marinate your chicken overnight, skip the papaya paste, and only add it when you are threading the chicken before grilling.
- Soaking the skewers: If you are using wooden skewers, soak them for 20 minutes in water before using them. This tip prevents the skewers from burning when you grill them.
- Giving Coal flavor: A coal infusion upgrades our malai boti to a restaurant-style style authentic version!
Pairing & Variations
- Make rolls with homemade parathas.
- Serve with kachumbar salad and yogurt on the side.
- Serve on a bed of pulao rice, or make the fusion version of this recipe, Malai Boti Pulao
- A nice bhuni daal (lentils) and roti would be finger-licking good.
- Use as a sandwich or wrap filling, or even a pizza topping!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can do this by adding a few drops of liquid smoke to your grilled chicken. OR heat a piece of charcoal until red hot. Place it in your grilled chicken on a piece of bread or foil. Drizzle oil on your coal and cover the chicken with a lid immediately. Your smoke will infuse into the chicken within 5 to 6 minutes
Absolutely! Just increase the quantity of papaya paste to double and increase the marination time to overnight.
You can freeze the raw marinated chicken (minus the papaya paste) in a ziplock bag. The cooked Malai tikka can also be frozen in airtight containers for 30 days.
Yes! If you’d like to make malai tikka or simple bone-in chicken, skip the skewers and grill the chicken pieces individually.
Other Barbecue Recipes and more
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Chicken Malai Boti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg boneless chicken cut in medium size cubes
- 125 ml fresh cream or table cream use any thick cream of your choice
- 6 whole serrano green chilies stem removed
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder zeera
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder dhaniya
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder all spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon garlic ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon raw papaya paste or meat tenderizer (see notes)
- 1/2 cup oil for greasing or grilling
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- Add yogurt and green chilies to a blender. And blend until you get a smooth paste.
- In a large bowl, add all ingredients listed under "chicken marinade". Marinate the chicken, cover the bowl and set aside for at least 20 minutes. (see notes)
- Thread the boneless chicken onto a wooden or a metal skewer. Stack onto a tray or platter.
Cooking Methods
- Stove Top Grilling – Heat a grillpan or a non-stick skillet at medium high heat greased well with oil. Place the malai boti skewers and let it grill for around 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the sticks over and grill for another 5 minutes. Remove for pan and place in the serving tray.
- Airfryer or Oven – Prepare your baking tray by spraying with oil or grease it with butter. Place your chicken skewers on the tray and spray oil on top of the skewers too. Bake at 240℃ (460 ℉) for 7 minutes. Take out the tray and flip them over and bake for another 7 minutes. You can also open the broiler for the last one minute of the cooking to give malai boti a charred look.
- Outdoor Grill – Grill as you would with any other barbecue. Coat with oil while flipping skewers over.
Notes
- This recipe uses papaya paste as a meat tenderizer. It makes the chicken super soft. And only requires 30 minutes to 2 hours to work. If you plan to marinate the chicken overnight or for longer, skip adding the papaya paste until the very end.
- Substitution for papaya paste – Store-bought meat tenderizer or 1 teaspoon of crushed kiwi.
- Wooden Skewers – Soak them in water for 30 minutes before using, to prevent burning of the skewer ends.
- If you are making the malai boti at home, in the pan, you can give it coal smoke at the end to give it a barbecue aroma. You can use liquid smoke to do this, or heat up a piece of coal on the stove and place it in a glass or steel cup inside the chicken, drizle oil, and cover the chicken for 5 minutes to infuse the coal smoke.
Questions? Thoughts? Leave them below