Tikka skin initially lacks curry powder (4)
I believe the answer is:
talc
'powder' is the definition.
(talcing is a kind of powdering)
'tikka skin initially lacks curry' is the wordplay.
'skin' means to remove the middle letters.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'tikka' with its centre removed is 'ta'.
The initial letters of 'lacks curry' is 'lc'.
'ta'+'lc'='TALC'
(Other definitions for talc that I've seen before include "Powder used as toiletry" , "Bathroom powder (abbr)" , "After-bath powder" , "Drier" , "Mica - scented body powder" .)