From Meera Sodha’s fabulous book, Made in India, we continue to make very successful dishes. We made this for a Christmas party alongside Meera’s Cinnamon lamb curry, and coconut fish curry. All very straightforward particularly if you get the lamb cooked the night before and serve with a load of rice (cooked and kept warm in a rice cooker if you have one) and a simple salad.
We used small green birds-eye chillies with their seeds removed and while these were hot on their own they gave the right amount of background heat to each dish: think of it as a mild curry with a tiny, perfect kick.
If you prefer you can thread the chicken pieces onto kebab sticks before roasting. You will need to soak wooden sticks in water for about 20 minutes before using to stop them burning in the oven.
The Mint chutney was amazing and not only works with the chicken tikka but is also great with a roast or grilled lamb instead of the usual mint sauce/jelly.
Oven-roasted Chicken Tikka (Murghi na tikka) – serves 4-6 as a starter or with other dishes
- rapeseed oil
- 600g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of any fat
- 4cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 fresh green chilli, roughly chopped
- salt
- 130ml whole-milk yoghurt
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¾ tsp cumin seeds, crushed
- ¾ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garam masala
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Line 2 oven trays and brush with a very light layer of oil.
Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and put into a bowl.
Pound the ginger, garlic and green chilli with a pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar, until it turns into a paste. Add the paste to the chicken, then add the remaining ingredients to the bowl along with 1¼ tsp salt. Mix well and cover. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes or in the fridge for a a few hours if you can.
Shake the excess marinade from the chicken and divide between the lined trays. Cook for about 20 minutes, turning once.
Serve with salad and the Mint & Yoghurt Chutney below.
Mint & Yoghurt Chutney (Fodina anna dahi nu chatni) – makes a small jar
- 5 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 20g fresh mint
- 1 fresh green chili, deseeded and finely sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- juice of ½ a lemon
- a pinch of salt
Put the ingredients into a blender and whizz until mixed. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
The chutney will keep for a day in the fridge if you want to make it in advance.
(Original recipes from Made in India by Meera Sodha, Fig Tree, 2014.)
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Jono & Jules do food & wine 