Chicken or mutton pieces marinated in yogurt with cumin, coriander, chili, ginger, and garlic, threaded on metal skewers and cooked over live charcoal. The charcoal matters enormously — a gas-grilled tikka and a charcoal tikka are different foods.

Satwa and Bur Dubai have the right places. AED 10–15 a skewer, eaten at a counter with raw onion and mint chutney. Best around 9pm when the coals are properly lit, the restaurant is full, and the smoke is doing what smoke does to meat.