TANDOORI CHICKEN

I have the best memories of my mother making Tandoori chicken for us several years ago. For someone with no Indian background whatsoever, she sure did love to fill the kitchen table with papadums, naan bread and zesty chicken dishes. Tandoori chicken was my first attempt at cooking a remotely Indian dish. I found a tandoori paste tin that had been at the back of my pantry for the better half of last year (unopened of course) and I decided that the time had come to use it. I added black beans and red onion for a bit of a Mexican touch to the dish. Baking the chicken in the oven is far superior to frying it, as the chicken retains its juices and is much more tender. Dukkah makes an appearance in this dinner as well, to add some extra flavour to the rice. Perhaps not a traditional Indian dish by a long stretch, but it tasted damn good.


INGREDIENTS

• 500g chicken breast, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1/2 cup tandoori paste
• 1/3 cup fat-free natural yoghurt 
• 1 1/2 cups doongara rice 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 200g red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 medium red onion (120g), finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 x 400g tin black beans, rinse and drained
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dukkah 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan force. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Cook doongara rice according to packet instructions. 

3. Meanwhile, combine chicken pieces, yoghurt and paste in a medium bowl and toss well to coat. Place chicken pieces in a single layer on prepared baking tray and cook in oven for 12-14 minutes or until no pink flesh of the chicken remains. (Tip- to make this call- choose the biggest piece of chicken on the tray and cut it in half- if no pink flesh is visible, then all the chicken is ready).  

4. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat and add onion, garlic, capsicum and black beans. Cook, stirring constantly, for around 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 

5. When rice has absorbed, remove from the stove and stir in dukkah. Arrange rice, cooked vegetables and chicken on a platter and serve. 

x E