These chicken skewers are marinated in yogurt and cream with garlic, ginger, green chillies and coriander. The secret ingredient in this marinade is grated cheese, which clings to the meat and melts as it cooks under a hot grill. This clever marinade is malai tandoori technique — the word ‘malai’ means cream — and can be used for vegetarian dishes too.
Serve these chicken tikkas with a sprinkling of chaat masala or just add a squeeze of lime juice instead.
Recipe taken from Tandoori Home Cooking by Maunika Gowardhan (Hardie Grant)
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Ingredients
- 640g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- Melted butter for basting
- Pinch garam masala
- Pinch chaat masala
- Pickled chillies, chopped red onion and naan to serve (optional)
For the marinade
- 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 5cm fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 2 green bird’s-eye chillies
- 2 tbsp malt vinegar
- 2 tbsp greek yogurt
- 80ml double cream
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 30g mature cheddar cheese, grated
- Handful coriander leaves, finely chopped
You will also need…
- Wooden skewers soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
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Method
- To make the marinade, whizz the garlic, ginger and chillies in a blender with a splash of water to a smooth paste. Put this paste in a large mixing bowl with the vinegar, then add the chicken and toss to coat. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the yogurt, cream and cornflour. Mix well to get rid of any lumps. Add the cheese and coriander. Season to taste. Add this yogurt mixture to the bowl with the marinated chicken pieces. Mix well and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
- Heat the grill to a medium. Line a baking tray with foil and put a wire rack over the tray. Thread the chicken pieces onto the soaked wooden skewers and put them on the wire rack. Drizzle the skewers with any leftover marinade. Put the tray under the grill and cook for 7–8 minutes. Baste with the melted butter, then turn the skewers and grill for a further 8 minutes until the chicken is lightly charred around the edges and cooked through.
- Take the chicken off the skewers and serve on a large platter, sprinkled with the garam masala and chaat masala. Serve with pickled chillies, fresh chopped red onion and naan, if you want.
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