Tandoori Chicken Kebabs

I feel like a naughty child today. I signed up for my first ever Daring Cooks challenge and what did I go and do? Miss the deadline! I somehow got the dates mixed up or something.  I intended to make it on Saturday (but then never got round to it - we went shopping instead!), but for some reason didn't realise that the reason I had it earmarked for Saturday was because the due date was Saturday. Oy vey.



I do still intend on making it, just obviously rather late. And while everyone already knows that the November challenge was homemade sushi, what I can say about my particular version is that I got a little bit creative with the interpretation thereof. Yes, I went all fusion on yo asses! But you'll have to tune in for my next post where I'll reveal all about that. Yes, yes, I know, the suspense is killing you softly. ;-)



Back to the current post however, which has absolutely nothing to do with the Daring Cooks challenge, but everything to do with lip-smackingly good chicken. Yes, it's tandoori chicken. Something I'd been wanting to try my hand at for some time now. 'Cause you know it's just one of those classic must-make Indian dishes. Like butter chicken. Or Rogan Josh. See? A bit of shameless self-promoting never hurt anyone... 



Back to the tandoori though - it was exactly the way I wanted it to be. Succulently spicy chicken threaded onto a kebab and served with some raita on the side - it's hard to imagine a more casually delicious supper. 





Tandoori Chicken Kebabs



Spice mix adapted from Chicken Farmers of Canada



Serves 4



600g chicken breast fillets

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cardamom pods

1/4 tsp whole cloves

1 bayleaf

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chilli powder (or use 1 or 2 fresh chillies, finely chopped)

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup plain lowfat yoghurt



1. Cut chicken into bitesize chunks and set aside.

2. Finely grind the cumin, coriander, cardamom, cloves & bayleaf in a pestle & mortar (or cheat like I do and use a coffee bean grinder - works like a charm). The bayleaf won't grind to a powder, that's okay. Mix with the rest of the spices, lemon juice and yoghurt.

3. Work the marinade into the chicken using your hands, ensuring all pieces are fully coated. Cover with clingfilm and allow to marinade for 30 - 40 minutes in the fridge.

4. Thread the chicken pieces onto kebab skewers and grill in the oven at 200C until done. Be careful to not overcook them, they will still be tasty, but a little bit too dry. I found 15 minutes did the trick.



Serve with tomato wedges and a cucumber raita.



Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 163.9 , Total fat 2.0 g, Saturated fat 0.2 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g, Monounsaturated fat 0.2 g, Cholesterol 69.4 mg, Sodium 1005.7 mg, Potassium 85.2 mg, Total carbohydrate 4.9 g, Dietary fiber 1.6 g, Sugars 1.3 g, Protein 30.0 g