Indian Tandoori Chicken Tikka

We eat Indian food regularly at work. Actually, we have quite a few people on our team from India. Once in awhile, the girl (Mugdha) who sits over the cubicle wall to my left brings in this wonderful smelling food. Finally I had to ask for the recipe because I couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted some and I wanted it bad! Of course, I finally made it and I made a mistake. I added yogurt when her recipe didn't call for it. The problem is she also sent me a recipe for Barbecue Tandoori Chicken in the same email, and that recipe did call for yogurt. I tried to read the recipe and then I went to the kitchen to try and make it from memory. Well, my memory these days isn't so good. The end result was still delicious though.

Her recipe also called for 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves which I didn't have on hand. Next time! Also, notice the cooking technique. I forgot her reason for doing this, but she puts the chicken in the pan and then turns on the heat. I've never done that before but it seemed to work out okay.

I got this in an India grocery store close to where I work.

Mugdha picked it out for me of course.

Here's the finished product. Yum Yum!

2 servings

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (boneless) washed and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
(and if you want to make my mistake, 1/2 cup plain yogurt)
1 1/2 tablespoons Tandoori Masala
oil for frying
chili flakes (optional)

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together except for the Tandoori Masala. Put the chicken pieces into it and marinate for several hours or overnight in the fridge.

If you decided to use yogurt, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and place them on a paper towel to drain off some of the moisture before cooking. Blot the top with paper towel as well.

Arrange all the chicken pieces in a nonstick pan. Sprinkle half of Tandoori Masala on it and shake well. Turn the stove on to medium heat. Cook stirring often for 4-5 minutes. Add a little oil to the pan and increase the heat to high, add remaining masala. Add some chili flakes if you want it hotter and keep stirring until the chicken is cooked through. About 8 minutes or so depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Mugdha suggests serving this dish with sliced onions and lemon wedges. I've never seen anyone eat as much raw onion as her!

Tip: I served this with plain yogurt to which I added some grated and squeezed cucumber, grated zucchini, a little ground cumin, dried mint and dried dill. I'm on a low carb diet at the moment, but if you're not, go ahead and eat this with some fresh naan or even warm pita. This had just a hint of spiciness to it. I didn't add the chili flakes because I was giving this to my 4 year old, who gobbled it up by the way. I told her the yogurt had pickles in it and she ate a whole bowl of it. Sometimes, you have to be sneaky!