Tuesday 28 June 2016

Cardamom Chicken Skewers.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Nothing is more summery than chicken skewers.
Well, except maybe strawberries and cream but we'll save that for dessert!
How is your summer going anyway? Ours has been very wet and even prompted me to put on the heater last night. I know!
Anyway, back to these cardamom chicken skewers. I love cardamom but often find that it's relegated to being the star of Pakistani tea, sweets and rice. Random side note, I am on a mission to bring more Pakistani desserts to this blog. My first stop will most likely be gulab jamuns but how I will make mine even half as good as our local methai shop is beyond me. They make the best sweet treats ever and so I have a lot to live up to.
Anyway, back to the skewers. I keep getting sidetracked today! This is the kind of recipe that I love. Not too many ingredients, a marinade and then a quick grill. Chicken pieces are stirred together with red chilli, lime juice and ginger. After 15 minutes, yoghurt seasoned with salt, pepper and the star of the show, ground cardamom is added. A marinade of up to 3 hours, a little skewering, time on a hot pan/grill and we are done. The chicken is so tender, it's ridiculous. We finish with a light sprinkle of chaat masala - so good and! Even my parents, the addicts of all things deeply-spiced loved these. Enjoy!


A Simple List of Ingredients:
 1. Red Chillies
2. Ginger
3. Limes
4. Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces
5. Greek Yoghurt
6. Black Pepper
7. Salt
8. Ground Cardamom
9. Chaat Masala

Bismillah, let's begin!

This recipe has two marinades but they are both the easiest things ever. Let me show you! First, let's take a large bowl.

 And, 4 large Red Chillies. You can also use green as I have in the past and adjust the quantity to your taste.

 Remove the tops from the chillies and chop up.

 Pop them into the bowl.

Next up, ginger. Take a large knob of Ginger.

 Give it a peel and a grate.

Add to the chillies.

Then, take 2 Limes. My favourite!

 Slice them in half.

 And, squeeze the juice into the bowl.

 And, that is our first marinade. So easy!

 Stir it up ...

... before grabbing 2 pounds (900 grams) Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces. You can also halve this recipe for a pound of chicken, if you wish.

Add in the chicken pieces.

 Stir well and set aside to marinade for 15 minutes. The lime will begin to make the chicken softer while the ginger and chilli give it lots of flavour.

 Next, while the chicken marinades, we can stir up our second marinade. Take a small bowl.

And, grab some Greek yoghurt.

 Place 360 ml Greek Yoghurt into the bowl.

 Along with 1 teaspoon Black Pepper.

 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Salt

 And, the star of the show! Ground cardamom! We usually grind our own by removing the seeds from green cardamoms and blitzing in a grinder - as shown in this recipe!

 Add in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cardamom.

 And, that's it. Our yogurt marinade is done!

All that's left to do now is stir it up!

 Grab the chicken.

 Pour in the yoghurt.

 Give it a stir.

And, cover it up. Let it marinade for up to 3 hours.

 When you're ready to cook, place the chicken pieces onto skewers. We used metal but if you are using bamboo, soak them first.

 If you don't want to skewer, you can also cook the chicken in a hot pan or under a grill.

 To cook, take a large pan or grill pan.

 Place over a medium heat and once hot, brush with Vegetable Oil.

 Cook the skewers in batches.

 
 We found that 5 minutes per side worked best.

 Before finishing with a final steam under a lid for a few minutes.

Continue cooking the rest.

 To serve, take Chaat Masala.

 And, sprinkle over the chicken, to taste.

 Serve hot with your favourite chutney and flatbread. Enjoy!

Full Written Recipe:

Cardamom Chicken Skewers.

Prep Time: About 3 hours + 25 minutes (includes marinade time)
Cook Time: About 20 minutes.
Serves: About 6 people.

Ingredients
4 large Red Chillies, finely chopped
Large knob of Ginger, peeled and grated
Juice of 2 Limes
2 pounds (900 grams) Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces
360 ml Greek Yoghurt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 and ½ teaspoons Salt
1 and ½ teaspoons Ground Cardamom
Chaat Masala, to sprinkle over

Method

The first marinade! Into a large bowl, place the red chillies, ginger and lime juice into a bowl. Stir together and add in the chicken pieces. Stir and cover. Leave to marinade for 15 minutes.

The second marinade! In a small bowl, place the yoghurt, black pepper, salt and ground cardamom. Stir together. Add to the chicken and stir. Marinade for up to 3 hours.

To cook, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers. Cook in batches on a hot pan on a medium heat with a little vegetable oil until golden brown and cooked through. This should take about 10 minutes per batch. Continue with the rest.

To serve, sprinkle with chaat masala and enjoy with flatbreads, salad and dips.

{Adapted from Rick Stein's India}

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Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your chicken skewers,

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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