Air fryer chicken tikka wraps
Yogurt-marinated chicken with warm Indian spices and charred edges, rolled up with a cool cilantro yogurt sauce and tangy quick-pickled onions.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.00 a serving
- 420 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, divided
- 1 lemon, juiced, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 flour tortillas, large
- 2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
- 1 tomato, sliced
From your pantry
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
Each serving has about 420 calories, 45 g protein, 32 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $3.00 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No flour tortillas? Whole wheat tortillas work.
- No romaine lettuce? Green leaf lettuce or iceberg lettuce or butter lettuce works.
- No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
In a big bowl, ½ cup of the yogurt with half the lemon juice, the garlic, ginger, garam masala, paprika, cumin, turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the chicken and stir to coat.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Cover and it in the fridge for 20 minutes, or up to overnight.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Timer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: The yogurt tenderizes the chicken, so even 20 minutes makes a difference.Meanwhile, the onion with the rest of the lemon juice and of salt and leave it to turn pink.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
the air fryer to 400°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Lay the chicken in the basket in one layer, shaking off extra , and air fry 12 to 14 minutes, shaking halfway, until at the edges and the biggest piece reads 165°F.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 13 min
Dolly’s tip: Cook it in two batches if it will not fit in one layer. The dark spots are flavor, not burning.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
the rest of the yogurt with the cilantro and the rest of the salt for the sauce.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds under a damp paper towel.
Spread each tortilla with sauce, add lettuce, tomato, chicken and pickled onions, then roll it up tight, tucking in the sides.
Dolly’s tip: For lunches, pack the chicken to warm up and the sauce, onions and lettuce separately, then roll it at lunch so the tortilla stays soft, not soggy.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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