Tuesday 2 June 2015

Tandoori Chicken and Homemade Naan




How time does fly! It feels as though I just blogged my last recipe the other day. But it's been a rather jam packed few weeks. The last week of May especially in my mind now is just a manic blur of work, deadlines and other commitments. The 1 week break from school came as a much needed respite, and though my lack of posting boiled down to technological restraints, being "unplugged" for a few days felt quite refreshing. I sometimes get the urge to just throw away all pieces of technology and just live under a rock on a farm, but to be honest, I think I'm too much of a city girl slash technophile to ever really survive such a lifestyle. I suppose the key is finding the right balance, but that's the secret to pretty much everything in life, right?

The teacher side of me has the end of the academic year firmly in her sights, but sadly my brain is so fried at this point, that it's more like I'm dragging myself to the finishing line rather than a final sprint. Hashtag The Glamorous Life of a Teacher. However, I am currently super excited for the arrival of Ramadhan, my favourite time of the year. As for many people, it's a time of moral and spiritual renewal for me and to be able to take a step back and realise, amongst all the stress and the mayhem, what the bigger picture really is. It's also around this time of year that many start searching for and planning what meals to prepare to eat after breaking their fasts. So I thought I'd post some slightly more traditional yet surprisingly easy recipes.


The first recipe is a quick tandoori chicken recipe, using drumsticks from Aafiyah's frozen range, minus the tandoor or packaged tandoori spice masala. Like my sumac chicken, it's another great example of just leaving things to marinade for a while and then shove it into the oven. Exactly the kind of recipes you want for Ramadhan, when you do not want to be stuck in the kitchen all day. And as it's baked, it's a lot lighter than other heavier Indian dishes. 

Homemade naan makes a great accompaniment to the chicken. I have been wanting to try out so called instant naan recipes for a while now, however I always got put off thinking that it was too time consuming. But surprisingly it was a lot quicker and easier than I expected. There is no yeast used in the recipe, with all the rising power coming from the yoghurt, and baking powder/soda combo. 

 The dough is very elastic and malleable meaning that it's easy to roll out. As I was making them, I was far too impressed by how much the little circles of dough puffed up on the pan like pillows. It was quite the metamorphosis. The recipe I followed suggested smearing the naan with ghee to add a buttery taste, however, all of my family members agreed that it tasted better without. I also decided to add some black seeds to add a little contrasting spice to the naan. Whilst I was rolling out the naan, I sprinkled a handful of black seeds on top of each circle. I don't own a tawa at home so I just used a regular frying pan and the results turned out just fine. To try your hand at some instant naan, check out Kanakana's detailed instructions here. To find out how I made my tandoori style chicken, read on!






Tandoori Chicken



Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 45 minutes- 1 hour
Serves: 2-4.

6 Aafiyah Original Drumsticks, skinless

Tandoori Marinade:
1 cup natural yoghurt
4 tbsp oil
Juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 inch ginger, grated
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp salt



1) Slash the drumsticks two or three times at the thickest part of the leg.

2) In a bowl, combine the yoghurt, oil, lemon juices, and all of the spices. Mix well.

3) Add chicken to bowl and stir to coat in mixture. Leave to marinade for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.

4) Preheat oven to 220ยบC and line a tray with aluminium foil.

5) Gently shake off excess marinade from chicken legs. Place legs on tray. Roast for 35-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Check that its cooked through by piercing the chicken at its thickest part. The juice should run clear.

6) Finish the chicken off either on a cast iron griddle on the stove or under a grill for 5-10 minutes, turning over the chicken half way, until the outside of the chicken is crispy and slightly charred.

7) Serve with salad and a yoghurt and mint raita.  






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