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Tandoori Chicken Tikka
Tandoori Chicken Tikka
Tandoori chicken tikka is the most well known food of all Indian cuisine. You will find this on just about every Indian menu. Tandoori chicken originated from the Indian state of Punjab, where skewers of marinated chicken are roasted in a cylindrical clay oven heated with charcoal or wood.You can use chicken breast or thighs with this recipe. I’m partial to using chicken thigh. The boneless skinless thighs I used happened to be ginormous, so I cut them into thirds. Marinate the chicken for 4 hours, preferably overnight. You can either broil or grill the skewers. First, cook them for 5 minutes a side. Then brush each side with melted butter, cooking for another 5 minutes on each side. You should have a nice char on your tandoori chicken. Serve the chicken with mint chutney and naan.
Equipment
- metal skewers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into large chunks
- butter melted for basting
Marinade
- 2 tbsp greek yogurt
- 2 tsp chickpea flour
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 birds eye green chili finely chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- pinch cinnamon
- pinch saffron crushed
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Add in the chicken. Marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Preheat your oven’s broiler. Place 2 pieces of the marinated chicken on metal skewers. Place on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil for 5 minutes a side. Brush the top side with melted butter. Broil for 5 minutes. Flip the skewers, brushing the other side with butter. Broil for 5 more minutes.
- Squeeze a little lemon juice over the skewers.
Khumb Matar Malai
Khumb Matar Malai (Mushroom Curry with Cardamom, Cashews, and Peas)
Cooking Indian cuisine is not for beginners. The more I delve into regional Indian cooking, the more I’ve learned the complexity of how to properly prepare these dishes. Their cuisine has significantly more ingredients than any other ethnicity I’m finding. Some of the ingredients are fairly expensive(nuts, saffron, etc.) There is a very specific order in which you add the ingredients. If you don’t the recipe won’t turn out right. But…The end results have been nothing but amazing, and this recipe is nothing short of that.Mushrooms aren’t typically used in a lot of Indian cuisine. Khumb Matar Malai translates to mushroom curry with cardamom, cashews, and peas. What you get out of this curry is a creamy mushroom gravy thickened with a cashew paste and aromtically spiced with cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and Kashmiri chili powder. This dish is vegetarian, but can be made vegan by substituting non-dairy yogurt and almond or cashew milk. Serve with steamed basmati rice and paratha.
Equipment
- Spice Grinder or mortar and pestle
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
Spice Powder
- 4 whole cloves
- 1” cinnamon stick
- 5 green cardamom seeds
Khumb Matar Malai
- 8 oz button mushrooms sliced
- 1/3 cup cashews soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small white onion finely chopped
- 1 birds eye green chili finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup frozen peas
Garnish
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Soak cashews in hot water for 20 minutes.
- Purée the cashews in a blender along with the Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup of the water the cashews soaked in until a smooth paste is formed. Set aside.
- In the same blender, add the onions and purée into a paste. Set aside.
- Grind the cloves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom seeds in a spice grinder. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium. Sauté the green chili for 1 minute.
- Add in the onion paste. Sauté for 8 minutes.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Add in the Kashmiri chili powder and spice powder. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add in the cashew yogurt paste. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the milk. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add in the mushrooms, sugar, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, covered.
- Add in the green peas and continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Shrimp Sambal
Shrimp Sambal
Sambal is a spicy paste made out of chilies, shallots, and Malaysian shrimp paste. It is sautéed in cooking oil until aromatic. Large shrimp are added to the paste and quickly sautéed. Diluted tamarind concentrate is added, creating a spicy, tart sauce. Shrimp Sambal only takes 10 minutes to make. Spicy, spicy, spicy. This will clear you out.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
Spice Paste
- 10 dried arbol chilies seeded
- 10 small shallots
- 1 tbsp belecan shrimp paste
Shrimp Sambal
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 lbs 16-20ct shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate mixed with 1/2 cup water
- 3 kaffir lime leaves julienned
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Using a food processor or immersion blender, blend the spice paste ingredients together until it forms a paste.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the spice paste for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the shrimp. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in the water and tamarind concentrate. Bring to a boil. Add in the lime leaves, sugar and salt. Turn off the heat and serve.
