Chicken Tikka Kebabs

I've been making a ton of different kebabs recently while we've had the warmer weather; they are so good on the barbecue, but you can also cook them under the grill. They're really delicious, family-friendly, pretty healthy and a great Indian fake-away option.

I served these Chicken Tikka Kebabs with a simple salad of lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomato and coriander, some mango chutney and a naan bread which used as a wrap.

The below serves 4.

Chicken Tikka Kebabs

Here's how:

• 3-4 chicken thighs (or if you prefer 3 chicken breasts)
• 100g fat free natural yoghurt
• 100g fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp olive oil, rapeseed oil or vegetable oil

In a bowl or plastic tub, place the natural yoghurt, the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, garam masala, salt and pepper and oil inside. 

Cut the lime in half and squeeze in as much juice as you can, then throw in the body of  half the lime, put the other half to the side for later.

Peel the garlic cloves and put through a mincer or finely chop and add to the marinade. 

Finally peel the ginger and grate into the marinade and give a quick stir to mix the flavours together.

Now cut all of the chicken into slightly bigger than bite sized chunks and place into the marinade, use a spoon to mix everything up and ensure each piece of chicken is fully coated in the marinade. Now cover with clingfilm or a lid and place into the fridge (or on the kitchen counter if it's cool enough) for at least a couple of hours. 

At this point, if you are using wooden skewers, immerse them into water until cooking time, which will prevent them from setting alight under a grill or on a barbecue.

When you are ready to cook, take four skewers, and thread on each piece of chicken. Pack them quite tight and close together until all of the chicken is on

Cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked through and slightly charred. Check the chicken is cooked through, by cutting into one of the biggest pieces and ensuring there is no pink. 

Remove from the barbecue or grill, and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. Squeeze over any remaining lime juice before serving.

If you want more Indian fake-away inspiration here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:

• Chicken Biryani
• Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
• Chicken Dhansak
• Sag Paneer
• Beef and Lentil Curry

Chicken Biryani

If like us, you’re craving an Indian takeaway, but aren’t keen to order in at the moment until Covid-19 is a little more under control, then why not try this stunning Chicken Biryani fake-away at home?

It’s an Indian-takeaway favourite and has become a staple meal at our house since I started cooking it last year.

It’s not a difficult dish at all and if you want some tasty dishes to run alongside it to make it like a real takeaway, try this Chicken Dhansak, Sag Paneer or Chicken Tikka with Lentil Daal, but rest assured the below serves 4-5 comfortably as a main dish. 

Chicken Biryani

Here’s how:

• 350g basmati rice
• 300-400g chicken thighs  
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3cm piece of fresh ginger
• Handful cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 3 heaped tbsp Korma Paste (I use Patak’s)
• 1.5 pints chicken stock
• 2 tbsp frozen peas
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1-2 heaped tbsp crème fraiche
• Handful fresh coriander leaves
• Drizzle olive or vegetable oil

Firstly rinse the basmati rice in cold water in a sieve until the water runs completely clear – this will avoid it becoming starchy and gloopy and is really important.

Now in a sturdy bottomed pan (preferably one which has a lid) add the knob of butter.

Cut the onion in half, and then dice one half and slice the other half. Set the sliced onions aside for now. Add the diced onion to the pan.

Mince the garlic and either finely chop or grate the ginger and add both to the pan to gently soften with the onion.

Now add in the spicing by adding the turmeric, garam masala, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods to the pan. Mix gently and allow the spices to cook out for a minute or two.

Now chop the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan to sear. Move the chicken around to ensure all pieces get seared on each side.

At this point add the Korma paste to the pan, stir and then the rice. Allow the rice to cook in the pan for a minute or two, stirring to get a good coating in all the flavours in the pan. Add the frozen peas and raisins and then cover with the chicken stock, season with salt and black pepper and pop the lid on.

Bring this up to the boil and then cook for about 9 minutes, until almost all the water has been absorbed by the rice. Stir gently and then remove from the heat and leave to stand for ten minutes with the lid on, where the rice will continue to cook and absorb any remaining water.

In the meantime, heat the oil in another sauce pan on a really high heat and fry the onions until really dark and charred; these will work as a garnish for your Chicken Biryani. Once darkened, place onto a plate on top of some kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.

Now remove the lid from the Chicken Biryani and scatter over the fried onions, add the crème fraiche, either in little flourishes or one mound in the middle, and scatter over the coriander leaves and you’re ready to serve at the table. Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka with Lentil Dal

Indian food is one of the most popular in our household, and when trying to abstain from naughty foods it's probably one of the things we miss the most (washed down with a Kingfisher or two).

This chicken tikka dish is an incredibly satisfying one accompanied by the lentil dal (curried lentils), and when I had the craving for this I only had red split lentils and these worked just fine although are a slight departure from the traditional recipes.

If possible marinate the chicken overnight as you will get the best flavour this way - but if you haven't the time, then a couple of hours in the marinade should do.

Chicken Tikka with Lentil Dal

The below serves 2.

Here's how:
For the chicken tikka:

• 2 large chicken legs, skin on 
• 100g 0% Fat natural yoghurt (I use Yeo Valley) 
• 100g fresh ginger 
• 1 tsp ground cumin 
• 1 tsp ground coriander 
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• 1/2 tsp paprika 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp white pepper 
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder 
• 1 large lime 
• 1 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil 

For the lentil dal:

• 150g lentils 
• 1 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil 
• tbsp cumin seeds 
• 1 onion 
• 60g fresh ginger 
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 1 tbsp tinned chopped tomatoes or 3 cherry tomatoes 
• 2-3 green chillies 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric 
• 1/2 tsp garam masala 
• 1 tsp ground coriander 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• Pinch of salt 
• Pinch of black pepper 
• Handful of fresh coriander leaves and an additional green chilli for garnish 

Firstly create the marinade for the chicken by combining all of the other ingredients in a blender or a bowl with a whisk. Grate in the ginger and blitz or whisk till combined. Place the chicken into the bowl and completely cover with the yoghurt marinade which will flavour and tenderise the meat overnight. Cover well and place into the fridge for 24 hours, or however long you have.

The following day, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C, and remove the chicken from the fridge to come down to room temperature. Once the oven is ready, place the chicken onto a tray and into the oven to cook for 30-35 minutes until cooked through, then remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

In the meantime you can make the dal by firstly rinsing the lentils, then covering with lightly salted water and bringing to the boil. Now skim off any frothy water that might form on top of the water and get rid and then reduce the heat and cook gently for 30 minutes with a lid on.

Now heat the oil gently in a pan and in the meantime finely dice the onion, green chillis, garlic and ginger and add to the pan with the oil to gently cook down. Add the tomatoes and the ground spices and the room will soon take on a deliciously aromatic aroma. Pour over 100ml of water now and this will form the basis of your sauce or coating for the dal.

By now the lentils should be cooked through and will have absorbed most of the water - if not drain off any excess. The lentils should be soft and tender by now. Use a wooden spoon to stir well and slightly smoosh down as you want a combination of smooth textures to your dal.

Now add the lentils to the sauce pot and allow to cook for ten minutes. Before serving stir through half of the coriander and use the remaining half as a garnish with some fresh green chilli.

Portion up onto a bowl or plate and place the chicken tikka on top. Enjoy!

Can I get a bun with that burger?

Indian Spiced Bean Burger with Skinny Slaw and Sweet Potato Chips

So in a bid to shed a pound or ten pre-Christmas, I’ve decided a bit of healthy eating is in order, and to kick start this I’m doing a full week completely meat-free.

As I’m the person that does 99% of the cooking at home, the boy is also being subjected to this, so I thought I’d need to be slightly creative to avoid accusations of serving up ‘rabbit food’ so the first evening was a vegetable curry, which went down well on Sunday evening as both of us had what can only be described as a ‘skin-full’ on Saturday night and last night I made an alternative to burger ‘n’ chips.

I made my first ever bean burger, which I flavoured with some Indian herbs and spices and served with a home made spicy coleslaw and some sweet potato chips. This was also well received by the pair of us – and although we enjoyed it, I did think whilst eating it, that next time I’ll improve it with some chopped chorizo – but then I’m always thinking about ‘next time’ and new ways with everything I cook. The sweet potato chips and coleslaw were great accompaniments, and both a lower calorie version of the usual suspects, they really complemented the spices from the burger too.

Also please note from my picture the ridiculously thick size of the patties, again, a learning, and next time I will try to make these more compact, but overall it was a good dish and one I’d eat again with or without the addition of meat.

Here’s how:

Sweet Potato Chips:

• 300g sweet potatoes

Half a red chilli, finely chopped

3 Cloves Garlic

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel and cut into chip or wedge shapes, then rinse thoroughly. Add to a pan of boiling water and cook for fifteen minutes. In the meantime add some olive oil into an ovenproof dish and place into a pre-heated oven. Drain the sweet potatoes and shake in the colander then add to the dish and move around to make sure all have an oil coating. Scatter the chopped chilli, and pop in the unpeeled garlic cloves (feel free to add more or omit if you’re not a garlic fan or if you have a hot date later!) Season well and cook for twenty minutes or until they start to crisp.

Skinny Slaw

• 2 carrots coarsely grated

½ white cabbage coarsely grated

1 red onion coarsely grated

1 tablespoon paprika

3 tablespoons of low fat natural yoghurt

Salt & pepper to taste

Simply combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Makes a large bowl full, perfect for 4-6 people or if you’re only two, then great for keeping in the fridge to perk up salads or sandwiches for lunch the next day.

The Burger (makes 4 large patties or 6 smaller ones):

• 200g butter beans, cooked and cooled

200g chickpeas, cooked and cooled

200g kidney beans, cooked and cooled

1 small red onion finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

About two tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves and stalks

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 small red onion finely diced

1 red chilli finely chopped

1 egg, whisked

100g breadcrumbs

2 cloves, finely ground

To make the burger pop all of the cooked beans into a large mixing bowl and crush up with a potato masher, leaving the mixture quite coarse (don’t put through a potato ricer). Add the coriander and all of the herbs, onion and garlic and stir through with the egg. Gently add in a tablespoon at a time of the breadcrumbs until you have a texture that would hold well in a burger. Then shape into patties with your hands and top each side with some additional breadcrumbs.

Heat a tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and once hot add the patties and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. When you turn over to cook the other side, add a slice of Emental cheese so it melts nicely into the burger.

The Extras

• Burger buns of your choice 

2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt with a tablespoon of fresh, chopped mint

1 tub of salsa

Leaves and/or sliced tomato

Sliced red onion

Once your chips are almost done and your skinny slaw is ready – add in your burger patties to the pan to cook. To assemble I added some shop-bought (Sainsbury's) salsa to the bottom bun, then a slice of juicy beef tomato, the cooked burger with melted cheese next and then to finish a spoonful of the cooling minty yoghurt dressing.

Plate up and serve - good for veggies and meat lovers too.

Dishoom

Indian food is one of my absolute favourite things to eat – but when I do, it tends to be either a local curry house close to where I live in Essex (normally The Cardomom Lounge) or a mildly drunken jaunt around Brick Lane.

Happily the number of Indian restaurants in the West End is on the rise, be them slightly more modern in their approach than my trusted curry houses, and Dishoom is, in my opinion, leading in style, substance and most importantly flavour.

I had a sharing lunch with my brother recently that consisted of four delightfully simple dishes, each one expertly executed and each one leaving us wanting to come back and have it again.

The restaurant was intended to be a reflection of the traditional Bombay cafes serving wonderful street food, and whilst we tried a few of these types of dishes – we just had to order a curry dish too, it would feel wrong not to.

We went for their ‘Chicken Ruby’, which was in fact a rich red South Indian curry, tomato based but with a fiery kick to it, which made it perfect for Dan and I, as we are chilli lovers. Served with a roti wrap to mop up the spicy juices, there was no additional oil or grease, which you can sometimes find in Indian restaurants, and particularly with takeaway Indian food. A taste winner and particularly when paired with the Gunpowder Potatoes we had ordered which soaked up the sauce of the curry beautifully.

The potatoes were a crushed dish combining a mixture of seeds and spices and which had a good kick to them too. Served with a cooling raita, which was a good way to cool down the mouth with both of these spicy dishes.

As regular readers will be aware, I love a wrap, whether it be a burrito or my favourite Indian wrap place, Moolis, so we decided it would be prudent to try the Dishoom Chicken Tikka Roll and we weren’t disappointed.

This had a little green leaf and tomato salad inside, but not so much that the chicken was hiding within it – a good start. The chicken was cooked and flavoured beautifully, but the star of this wrap for me was the chilli chutney served alongside it. It gave a massive explosion of heat but had a sweetness running through it too for an almost sweet and soury taste – superb, and it complemented the wrap perfectly.

Our final dish was the Dishoom Calamari and, once again, it was faultless. Rather than a batter, which is so often the outside coating for grilled squid, Dishoom has a crunchy, spicy bread-crumbed exterior to their calamari that was just sublime. Served with a minty sauce and some chutneys this was a great dish too – and one I hope to try preparing at home!

As it was a working lunch, we washed down the meal with a Limca and a Thums Up (Indian lemonade and cola style drinks) rather than wine or beer and coming in at around the £40 mark – I think this is an example of the ideal Friday lunchtime spot – particularly if you’ve been out the night before.

Dishoom have just opened another branch in the City and I’m sure this won’t be the last new opening we see from them with their winning formula of simple, but well done Indian food, coupled with knowledgeable and friendly service. I’ll be back again.







Mooli's

Today after two years of meaning to, I finally made it to Moolis in Frith Street for lunch, with my good friend Steph.

I've seen praise for Moolis from the likes of The Guardian, The Metro and Evening Standard to name just a few, so naturally expectations were high.
Moolis offers roti wraps with a variety of fillings - six in total, with two vegetarian options. Steph opted for the Goan pork with pomegranate salsa and was left so satisfied she exclaimed excitedly halfway through "this is better than Wahaca", where she has recently discovered and loved. I had to agree with her - it had the perfect level of spice for me, the pork had a juicy picquancy and the cooling crunch of the fruit was an idylic partner - scrummy.
I had the Keralan beef with coconut, salsa and yoghurt. The beef was again spiced beautifully, and flaky, spiced pieces simply melted in my mouth. The salsa running through the roti really was tasty and just highlighted the overall freshness of it all - the roti had no grease at all - lovely.
The moolis are quite large so if you're less greedy than Steph and I then you can opt for the mini versions or the salad box (I won't be sharing titbits on what these are like as my apetite is large as regular readers will know).
The moolis are around £5 each and for £1 more you can get either a side dish, a lassis or a fruit juice. We both had a lime and minty affair - which was refreshingly lovely and felt like a sin-free mojito.
I couldn't resist trying a mango kulfi afterwards, which are served on a stick like a creamy lolly. It wasn't that strong on mango flavour to be honest - but it didn't matter, there was enough creamy spiced yumminess to satisfy by sweet craving. It was the perfect finale to a very cheap (£8.50) and very satisfying lunch.
I can honestly say that after more than 6 years of working in London this is one of the best grab-and-go lunches I've had (with maybe the exception of The Japanese Canteen. Chicken Katsu Curry which has helped me survive many a work hangover).
It may have taken me two years to get here - but I will definitely be returning sooner rather than later and if this is Indian street food then get me to an Indian street, and fast.
http://www.moolis.com/