Tuesday 24 January 2012

Tandoori Chicken w. Mango

It's been ages since I posted something last, I know. But good things come to those who wait. At least that's what they say. This dish is one of my favorite Asian dishes for various reasons. First of all, it's dead-simple to make. Secondly because it's so packed with flavour which balance each other perfectly.  It's sweet from the mangoes, bitter and sharp from the onion, spicy from the chicken and mild and citric from the lime-yogurt sauce. You can prepare it in advance and assemble it and bring it out at the last moment. It's sure to impress.
Ingredients:
Chicken Tandoori
1-2 chicken breasts (or equivalent in thigh meat)
Tandoori paste
or make it yourself:
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 small jar of Greek-style yogurt
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Juice of 1/2 lime
Freshly ground pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground fenugreek seed
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp Tumeric
Salad:
1 ripe mango
1 red onion 
A small handful of fresh cilantro
1-2 tsp Sambal Olek (or other chili paste)
Juice of 1 lime
Yogurt dressing:
1 small jar of Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 or 1 lime (to taste)
Salt to taste

Papdums
Start by cutting the chicken meat in bite sizes and marinate them with the tandoori paste and a bit of yogurt for 4 to 12 hours.

 Peel the mango and cut it in to small cubes of about 2 cm. Slice the onion and finely chop the coriander leaves. Add the chili and squeeze the lime fruit over it.
 When ready to eat, fry the marinated chicken over high heat. If you have a grill, even better. Just put the meat on a skewer. Grill marks only add to the flavour.
 Fry the papadoms according to the instructions. I usually fried then in a centimetre of neutral oil until the swell up. If it starts to bend weirdly, just press the sides down the a fork. Turn once and place on a rack to drip off.
 Mix the yogurt with the lime and taste for salt. Serve the tandoori chicken on top of the salad on top of the papadum. Splash a few dollops of the yogurt on top and enjoy.