When it comes to eating at the weekend it can be all too easy to succumb to the temptation of simply ordering a take away. However, as much as we love a good take out (and trust us, we do) having one every weekend isn’t good for our waistlines, or our bank balances. Good job we’ve got a super tasty, incredibly simple alternative then isn’t it? You can serve your chicken tikka in hot pitta pockets (as we did) or use the marinated chicken as the basis of a chicken tikka curry – it’s up to you.
You’ll need;
4 chicken breasts
Half a large tub of natural yoghurt
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1tsp of lemon juice
3x green chillies (this makes extra spicy chicken so only use 1 if you prefer a mild taste)
2 heaped tsp in total of mixed spices; cumin, chilli power, paprika, cardamon, clove
Sprinkle of fresh corriander
Salt and pepper
Tip your yoghurt into a large mixing bowl and add in the crushed garlic, grated ginger, squeeze of lemon juice, chillies, mixed spices, chopped corriander and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add your diced chicken to your spice mixture and coat in the sauce. Cover with clingfilm and leave for a few hours or ideally overnight.
Once you’re ready to cook your chicken pour a good glug of oil in a large pan and heat gently until nice and hot (be careful that the oil doesn’t splash you). Add your pieces of chicken to the hot pan and fry. Cook for around 15-20 minutes or until your chicken is a nice orangey colour on the outside and white in the middle.
Whip up a cool raita to go with the spicy chicken which is simply yoghurt (the rest of the pot you used for the meat marinade), a couple of dollops of mint sauce, and finely chopped cucumber. You can make this to taste.
We served our chicken tikka in homemade pitta breads and loaded them with fresh salad, sweet mango, a huge dollop of cool raita and a sprig of coriander. As easy to make as is it to eat.
Toads and Tiaras 