Grind all ingredients except chicken in the blender with as little water as possible.
Apply green marinade over the chicken and let it rest on kitchen counter for at least 20 minutes (or preferably for 4-12 hours in fridge.)
Thread the marinated chicken in wooden skewers. (optional)
To cook on pan
Heat a piece of charcoal until red hot. ( If smoking) Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking.
Cook on high heat for 8-10 minutes on a grill pan and turn the chicken after 4 minutes. Haryali chicken is ready when you see charred lines on the chicken.
Smoke chicken by placing hot skewers in a pot. Place the red charcoal over a foil in the pot. Drizzle a few drops of oil on hot charcoal and immediately cover the pot. (Video is helpful here.)
Let chicken rest for 4-5 minutes then serve with any garlic dip.
To bake in oven
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place chicken on the baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until the water runs clear or the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 F.
Rotate the tray after 10 minutes for even baking. Broil in the last 3-4 minutes for a charred look. Flip the chicken midway for even cooking. Smoking is optional.
To grill over barbecue pit
(Make sure your wooden skewers are soaked in water for 4-6 hours, wooden skewers do not catch fire.)
Place the chicken skewer on the barbecue grill and cook for about 8 minutes until charred then serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Chicken: The recipe calls for boneless chicken breast cubes, but you can use chicken legs or drumsticks as well.
Spices: Garam masala can be substituted with black pepper.
Cream: You can substitute cream with yogurt.
Herbs: I used a combo of mint and cilantro. You can use anyone herb as well.
Peanuts: This ingredient is optional. You can use cashew or coconut or almond powder as well.
If you have a few tablespoons of extra green paste left after applying on the chicken, you can mix it with mayonnaise or yogurt, or sour cream to make your hariyali dip.)
If you don’t have time for skewering, you can simply cook your boneless tikka on a pan over high heat until the water dries and tikka are a little charred here and there.
For dry roasting cumin just heat cumin in a pan on medium heat and stir until cumin is fragrant. Transfer cumin to a plate and use as needed.