Friday, June 4, 2010

Grilled Tandoori Chicken Skewers & Mocha Dog's First Blog Appearance!


I have 2 dogs. Mocha and Zappa. Mocha was first. She's a sweet girl... a little high maintenance, but what can you expect... I'm her mother. Then came Zappa (whom we also believe to be Mocha's blood brother, but haven't had solid proof), more chilled out... has a bit of a little man syndrome and is kind of a jerk sometimes, but cool nonetheless.

This is the Mocha girl. She definitely wanted some of this chicken!

Growing up, I was never a dog person. I actually feared dogs. Like, they literally had me shaking in my shoes and I would almost wet myself every time I saw one. So how did I ever get to the point of being comfortable enough to have 2 dogs? I don't know. I don't know how I became so passionate about cooking either. I don't know why my hair is one of the most important things I own. I just don't know. You can't explain some of life's mysteries... you just have to go with it, right? Right.

Random story aside... these tandoori chicken skewers were pretty darn delicious! I used to always be under the misconception that tandoori chicken HAD to be cooked in a tandoor oven to truly be tandoori chicken. Turns out, the tandoori part of tandoori chicken is actually the marinade that you let the chicken set it. Am I just dumb for not knowing that? Regardless... this chicken is worth trying out!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain yogurt
juice from 1 lemon
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 boneless & skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips

I love this because it's super easy too. Definitely want to let the chicken marinate over night also!

In a large plastic Ziploc bag, combine all ingredients, except the chicken. When you get a nice orange-pinkish color, you know it's mixed well. I like to close the bag and just mush everything together. Not the most conventional way, but it works and it's rustic.

Add the chicken, release all air from bag, seal up, and roll tight. Rolling the bag up in the end is good because it allows the marinade to penetrate the chicken easier because of less surface area. Set in fridge overnight.

If using bamboo skewers, make sure to soak them for at least 1 hour in warm water so they don't burn easily on the grill.

Heat a charcoal grill under medium high heat.

Skewer the chicken pieces onto the skewers and grill for about 4-5 minutes per side. Remember you're using chicken thighs here, so they'll be pretty tender and juicy.

I grilled up some zucchini and corn also! This was a perfect spring/summer meal! Definitely great for cookouts! Enjoy guys!

6 comments:

  1. So adorable! I love eating outside during the summer months...it is so relaxing to watch children and animals play while cooking and eating!

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  2. It's great that you specifically used chicken thighs for this - far superior to breast in terms of both taste and texture, and more able to stand up to the fierceness of charcoal grilling.

    You should try these with naan bread - just lay a skewer on a naan, add some plain yoghurt and salad, then wrap the naan bread around the lot, hold it tightly and pull the skewer out cleanly. It's one heck of a sandwich!

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  3. I love tandoori chicken and on a stick? How perfect is that!!! I will be making this recipe. Thank you!

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  4. The picture of the skewers with half on the table with the grass in the background is an awesome picture!

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  5. spices you used to marinate are delicious
    thank you for sending

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  6. Fantastic flavors...Mocha is so adorable :)

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