Beautiful colours
I'm not a huge fan of Indian food but when it is good it is so good! Therefore I don't usually cook Indian, because I can never do it properly. So I just leave it to the experts. But, having said that, I like doing my take on Indian food. Using some of their flavours and making my kind of food.
I'm so lucky to work as a private chef for an amazing Indian family and get to cook my kind of food for them. But I sometimes get to taste some of their traditional food, and believe me, it is a long way from the Indian take-away we are use to in the UK! It is bursting with flavours I didn't know existed.
This is my Indian inspired chicken and the first thing my kids said when they tried it was "mum, you have to put this on your website!". And when my kids like the food, I'm quite confident that it is good :)
I love chicken thighs but you can use what ever cut of chicken you like, breasts can work well too.
8-10 boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves of garlic
thumb size ginger
zest and juice of one lemon
50 ml olive oil or sunflower oil
handful fresh coriander
salt and a pinch of dried chilli flakes
I like using a pestle and mortar for this because I usually buy coriander and cumin seeds, not the ground spices. So I smash up the seeds and add the garlic and grind until it's a thick paste. Add all the other ingredients except the fresh coriander, and keep grinding until it is all nicely combined. Stir in the chopped coriander and pour over the chicken. Let this marinade for 30-60 minutes. You don't need to let this marinade for too long because the lemon will start to break down the meat and make it nice and tender.
Cook in a 200° fan preheated oven for around 30 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
Couscous
75 gr. couscous per person
chicken stock cube or stock pot or even better some homemade stock
few strands of saffron
handfull of chopped coriander and mint
half a pomegranate
Cook the couscous as instructed on package but instead of using just water you add some chicken stock and a few strands of saffron. Remember with saffron that a little goes a long way and just use a tiny pinch. Cover and leave to cook. when the couscous is cooked you fluff it up with a fork an add the pomegranate seeds and chopped herbs.
Cold cucumber dressing
400 ml Greek yoghurt
Small handful fresh coriander, chopped
Small handful fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cucumber
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt
1 runny honey
1 small clove of garlic or half a larger one
Put the yoghurt in a bowl. Cut the cucumber in half, lengthways, and remove the core. Finely chop or grate into the bowl. Grate or crush the garlic and add to the bowl. Add the cumin and coriander and mint and season with a little bit of salt and the honey. If you can let this sit for a while it will make it even better :)
