RECIPE: Chicken tikka
At Cookery School we teach to empower so that everyone has the confidence to replicate recipes again and again at home. We also teach by principle – if you can understand how to make one soup, you can make a whole range of different soups using the same principle.
During our time at home, in isolation, these principles have never been more pertinent, when we all need to cook a lot more. We will be sharing simple, home-cooked weekly recipes with you, so that your experience of cooking during Covid-19 is a positive one, with new recipes learnt and delicious dishes enjoyed.
Grills: basic principles
• For meat/poultry/fish/vegetables, you want a very hot grill, to immediately seal the outside of the food
• Marinades help keep meat and poultry tender when grilling. The longer the marination time the tastier and more tender the food will be
• Always oil the item to be grilled rather than the grill itself, to help keep smoking to a minimum
• Turn the item only once, if possible, to ensure best colour and to avoid the food drying out
• If further cooking is required grilled foods can be finished in a hot oven for a few minutes, to ensure the food is cooked through
Chicken tikka
Feeds 4
Ingredients
4 x 150g / 5oz chicken breast
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon chilli powder
Juice of 1 lemon
150g / 5oz natural yogurt
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 small piece root ginger (5cm), peeled and grated
2 tablespoons melted butter (ghee) or oil
½ teaspoon salt
Handful of chopped coriander, to serve
Method
1. Cut the chicken breasts into large cubes and place in a bowl.
2. Mix together the spices and gently heat in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes. This is called ‘braising the spices’ and will bring out their full flavour.
3. Mix together the lemon juice, yogurt, garlic, ginger and spices.
4. Smear this mixture all over the chicken and leave to marinate for 6-8 hours. If you do not have time to do this, leave for as long as possible to tenderise the meat.
5. When you are ready to cook ensure your grill is very hot and if using an oven heat to 230C / 450F.
6. Place the melted butter or oil in a large baking dish (to allow for evaporation) and place the chicken in this.
7. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, turning once during this time. Then place under a hot griddle for a minute or two to brown before serving.
8. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with rice and wedges of lemon.
Rosalind’s tips
1. Grilling can be done on a griddle pan or using an oven grill
2. It is important to have the grill very hot before placing anything under it
3. For extra spice add more chilli powder
Cooking during Covid-19
We have a wealth of experience to share in these unprecedented times if you need help cooking during Coronavirus. We’ll be giving you tips and recipes on using store cupboard ingredients, preserving, pickling & above all making the most of your valuable ingredients & not wasting food. PLEASE let us have YOUR questions and SHARE on Facebook or Instagram what you’ve been cooking & our founder Rosalind will be able to get back to you with answers so we can all learn from each other.
