Categories: Garam Masala TuesdaysIndian

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Chicken Tikka Salad and a Giveaway

The idea of a chicken tikka salad has been playing in my mind for a long time (while writing this post I googled it, and apparently there are other versions as well, so I am not the only one to have thought of it) and finally I got around to making it a few days before.

There are not many salad recipes in Indian cuisine. The only one I can think of is Kachumbar– which is basically a salad made from small tiny pieces of vegetables, mainly cucumber, tomatoes, onions with chillies and cilantro/coriander leaves added to it. Besides that I draw a blank although salads do feature in indian meals- its just plain cucumbers, tomatoes and onions sliced and served on a plate with maybe a lemon, salt and pepper dressing. But other than that I can’t think of any. (If you can, please do leave a comment below)

Unlike other Indian salads, like the ones I mentioned above, which are normally served alongside main course dishes, to provide a slight crunch to the meal, this chicken tikka salad is a meal in itself. But much lighter than a full fledged Indian meal. And great for the times when you want a lighter Indian flavor meal.

It’s a fairly easy and quick salad to make.

For the dressing, I used a mint yogurt dressing. Ever since I had the chicken tikka pasties at The cornish Pasty company that are accompanied with a mint yogurt sauce/dip, I have been pairing anything chicken tikka with mint yogurt. I just think they go so well together. And that’s how it is with this salad. These two things are meant to be together.

I used tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and lettuce to accompany the chicken tikka in the salad, but you can add or take away any salad vegetables you like.

Make sure you do not overcook the chicken. Remember, in a normal oven to get the charred look you would have to cook the chicken longer than required, making the chicken tough and not so pleasant to eat. So do not wait for the chicken to get that beautiful charred look. You will definitely end up over-cooking it and making it tough to eat. Also, overnight marination helps in soft, juicy chicken pieces. It just needs a little planning ahead, but makes a huge difference to your dish.

Before I go ahead and share the recipe, I have two announcements.

One, I wanted to let you know that there is a temporary location change at the Novice Housewife.

I am in Canada these days and will be here for the next two months and leave back for the (fingers crossed) less hot Arizona dessert in September. I am here for a two month Designer Cakes certificate course which starts Monday onwards.

The next two months will be a great learning experience, but for now I am a nervous wreck.

The coming next few weeks I will try to blog as frequently as I can but if I don’t you now know why! 🙂

Two, there is a GIVEAWAY for all you lovely people today.

If you ever noticed there is a link to the Tasty Photography ebook by the sweet and lovely Lindsay (of Pinch of Yum fame) on my page. Besides other tutorials, Lindsay’s ebook helped me a lot in understanding and improving my food photography. The Tasty Photography ebook presents in an easy to understand way photography concepts such as: composition, lighting, props, home-made photography equipment and many other useful things that will help you capture delicious photos ! You can also read more about the eBook and its contents here, if you like.

Lindsay has updated her ebook and is sweet enough to offer a free ebook to one of The Novice Housewife’s readers.

To win just enter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Giveaway will run till July 12, 2013, after which a winner will be selected at random. This giveaway is open worldwide.

There is also a special discount on till the 8th of July for people interested in buying the ebook. From today through July 8th, you can use the coupon newversion30 for a 30% discount to purchase the new version of Tasty Food Photography.

Chicken Tikka Salad

Recipe Type: Salad

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

for the chicken tikka marinade:
1 breast (or thighs, boneless chopped into bite size pieces)
3 tbsp strained yogurt
1 tbsp cilantro
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp fresh ginger paste
1 tsp fresh garlic paste
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp mustard oil
salt and ground pepper to taste
1 tsp green chillies, minced
1.5 tbsp fried onion paste (recipe below)
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
2 tsp gram flour roasted
fried onion paste
butter, for basting
for the dressing:
1 garlic clove, minced
2 heaped tbsp greek yogurt
1 tsp mint chutney
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
ground pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp water
For the salad
4 celery sticks, chopped
8-10 cherry tomatoes or 2-3 roma tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 onion, quartered
1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunk size pieces
lettuce or salad leaves of your choice

Instructions

Take 1/2 small onion and slice into rings. Fry the onion rings in oil till brown in color. Pat the oil off with paper towel and churn with 1 tbsp yogurt to make a paste.
In a bowl mix all the ingredients listed under the marinade, except for the chicken pieces. Check seasoning and if fine, add the chicken and coat it with the marinade. Let rest in refrigerator overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 400F. Thread the marinated chicken pieces with quartered onions, tomatoes and red peppers (You can also mix the veggies in any extra marinade)
Roast in oven for 10 minutes.
Remove skewers, baste with butter and bake another 5-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
To give a smoky flavor to the chicken: If not making on the grill and baking in an oven, to give a smoky flavor to your chicken tikka, heat a piece of coal on top of your gas fire. Once hot and red, put in the dish which has your cooked chicken pieces. Take a spoon of ghee/clarified butter and pour on top of the hot coal. When you do that, the coal will release smoke. Immediately cover the dish with the a foil, locking in the smoke with the chicken pieces. This gives a lovely smoky flavor to the chicken. You could also use liquid smoke if you can find it.
In a bowl mix the salad leaves and chopped celery and then chicken tikka pieces. Add the dressing and mix well. Serve immediately.

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