Tandoori Spiced Chicken Skewers with Jeera Rice
Ingredients
Tandoori Spiced Chicken
Marinade
- 2/3 cup plain or Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice from approximately 2 lemons
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium garlic cloves, freshly minced garlic (or 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 2 tsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger, use the small holes of your box grater (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Chicken
- 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch slices, can also use whole thighs just adjust cooking time
Cucumber Raita
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, you don't want a thin yogurt with a lot of whey
- 3 Persian or mini cucumbers
- 1-2 tsp milk
- ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted, crushed (or use ground)
- ½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted, crushed (or use ground)
- 3 tbsp chopped mint
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- ¼ tsp salt, more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper, more to taste
- 1 tbsp finely minced green pepper, jalapeño or Serrano pepper is fine
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala for garnish, optional
Jeera Rice
- 1 cup basmati rice, or follow rice cooker direction for 4 portions
- 2 tbsp ghee or butter
- 1 tbsp whole cumin, or jeera seeds
- 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed with the flat blade of a knife
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 1/2-2 tsp salt as needed
- 1 1/2 cups water, or follow rice cooker directions for 4 portions
Instructions
Tandoori Spiced Chicken Skewers
-
In a medium bowl whisk all marinade ingredients together until well combined.
-
Place the chicken in a container or large freezer bag, and cover with the marinade. Toss to coat the chicken pieces evenly.
-
Marinate for 6 hours or overnight. Store in fridge.
-
Remove the chicken and wipe off all excess marinade, but don't rinse under water.
-
If using wood skewers, soak wood skewers in water at least 30 minutes before threading on the meat, to prevent burning. Thread the meat evenly onto 6 to 8 skewers, depending on the skewer length.
-
Pre-heat grill to med-high heat. Grease the grill just before using.
-
Sear the chicken, for 3-4 minutes or until grill marks appear. Resist the urge to move them early, or the charred meat will stick to the grill itself. Once the grill marks are deep and set, the meat will release easily off the grill. If needed, a metal spatula can aid in releasing the skewers.
-
Turn and cook, until all sides have grill marks, move the skewers to a cooler part of grill and cover – or alternatively, finish cooking in a 350 F oven until meat is cooked through.
-
If cooking indoors, have the vent going, since there will be smoke. Have the oven set to 350F. Grill using a well greased grill pan or a cast iron skillet set over medium high heat, and once grill marks are set, transfer the skewers to a baking sheet and place in the oven till cooked through.
-
You want the meat to be cooked through to between 160-165F.
Cucumber Raita
-
Place the yogurt into a medium sized bowl. Set a box grater over the yogurt. Grate the cucumbers right over the yogurt. Any juices released into the yogurt will help thin it out.
-
Add the milk just enough to thin out to a desired consistency if the cucumbers didn't add enough liquid.
-
Add the cumin and coriander, mint, cilantro, salt, pepper and chopped green chilli. Stir to combine and set in the fridge to let the flavours meld.
-
Just before serving, sprinkle with chaat masala spice powder.
Jeera Rice
-
Place the rice in a strainer set over a bowl. Rinse with water a few times till the water runs clear. Use your fingers to stir the rice strands around in the strainer.
-
Then pour enough water over the rice to soak (the rice should be completely covered and has an inch of extra water on top). Soak the rice for 30 minutes.
-
When you are ready to cook, drain all the water from the rice and set the rice aside.
-
Heat ghee in a pot and add the whole spices and cumin seeds to it. Once the cumin seeds start spluttering after a minute or so, add drained rice. If using a rice cooker, just heat the ghee directly in the rice cooker and temper the whole spices in it on the cook setting before adding the rice.
-
Sauté the rice in the pan (or rice cooker) for one minute on a medium heat, stirring to coat the rice in the ghee and spices.
-
Add 1 1/2 cups water and salt to the rice and mix well. Bring the rice to a quick boil, and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 12-15 minutes, until all the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked through. Turn off the heat, leave the cover on and let the rice rest for 5 more minutes.
-
Top with chopped coriander and serve.
Recipe Notes
Chaat masala is a lovely tangy blend of cumin, coriander, mint, mango and tamarind powder, Kashmiri chilli powder etc. This powdered spice blend can be found in most Indian sections of your favourite specialty or grocery store. It is great sprinkled in dishes or even over fruit. Serious Eats has a great homemade recipe if you want to make your own.
Thanks to Alnoor from Lahore Tikka House in Toronto for the lesson on tandoori spices all those years ago. Serious Eats helped me out to flesh out his recipe.
Any leftover chicken is fantastic in my Butter Chicken sauce recipe.
Yes, I used a star anise in my rice. I like it. Other recipes call for strands of mace which are hard to come by. You could use ground mace. Or omit it. Or do what I did and think outside the box! You can also add a tsp of turmeric to the rice to give it a lovely golden colour, add it when you are sautéing the cumin.
If you don't rinse and soak your rice, you will need to increase the amount of cooking water, and the rice strands will not be as fluffy and separate.