In reaching the half way point of My Year in the Kitchen, I figured it was time to assess what I had done so far and which areas required more attention. I came up with al little list which showed what meals I had tried so far (ie. dessert, meat, fish etc) and it was relatively even. I did this again with cuisines and realised I hadn’t tried one of my favourites in Indian food.
I surfed around for something that jumped out at me and decided on a recipe from SBS where a lovely Pakistani woman shared her secrets to making the perfect Tandoori chicken, yum yum!
So firstly, I made the marinade for the chicken. The recipe called for 1 kg of breast or thigh fillets but since I had a fraction of that amount (above), I altered the spice ratio accordingly. To about 150 grams of natural yoghurt, I added:
- 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 1 tbsp tandoori paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp salt
And mixed it really well!
I then covered the chicken in the marinade and as the expert said to do, rubbed it into the chicken with my hands, ensuring it was really worked in. I left it in the fridge for a good two hours, but it can even be left overnight to ensure more flavour.
In the meantime, I would start on my accompanyments.
The chicken itself can just be eaten on its own but I made a delicious mint sauce to go with it that makes a big different. This is really simple, adding finely chopped mint, tumeric, chili, ground corriander and salt to some yoghurt and mixing well. You can also add onion and tomato if desired.
Next I made two very simple sides.
I made some indian spiced baked potatoes which were literally potatoes diced up with garlic, olive oil, salt, cumin, corriander and a touch of tumeric. I baked these for about 40 minutes in the oven. I also boiled some green beans in salted water and added a touch of white vinegar when they were cooked in 10 minutes. Easy peasy!
After letting the chicken marinate for two hours, I popped it into the oven. The recipe said to bake for about 20 minutes on 200°C and then reduce to 120°C and cook until tender. I only reduced down to 150°C and cooked the chicken for about an hour more. I’m a bit funny about cooking chicken (having given myself food poisoning once before…), so I made sure it was absolutely cooked through before taking it out.
The chicken turned out amazingly! On its own it was jam packed with flavour but espeically with the mint sauce it was a real winner. A bit of naan bread would have gone down well, maybe for next time!
It’s obvious I reaaaally like a dish when I don’t get sick of eating it.. all week long! Most definitely going on the favourites list!
x
My Year in the Kitchen 