Chicken Tikka with Mustard

A very flavorful and succulent chicken marinated and uniquely flavored with mustard. This recipe is traditionally made in a tandoor. A tandoor is a clay oven fired by charcoal and wood in which the food is baked. The meats, fish or vegetables or cheese are marinated in a paste with yoghurt (sometimes), lemon juice and spices, cashew paste (sometimes) and threaded on skewers, then quickly baked, giving them a sublime smoky flavor. Accompaniment to tandoori meats and/or vegetables are almost always, the many leavened and unleavened breads, called naan, kulcha or tandoori roti, which are also baked in the tandoor. Most north Indian restaurants specialize in tandoori food, and have an open kitchen where you can see the tandoori chefs at work - it is quite fascinating to watch them in action, and of course, later, a sizzling platter is brought to the table!!

Sarson (Mustard) Chicken Tikka

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 and a half pound Boneless Chicken cut into cubes

• 1 and a half tablespoon ginger garlic paste

• 2 tablespoons besan/gram flour

• 2 green chillies deseeded and chopped

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/2 tablespoon mustard paste (I used Dijon Mustard that I had) You can even grind up some

mustard seeds and add.

• 2 tablespoons mustard oil or oil of choice

• 1/2 tablespoon chilli powder (more or less depending on your palate)

• 1 tsp garam masala powder (optional)

• 1 heaped tablespoon drained yoghurt or greek yoghurt

• salt to taste

Steps:

1. Mix together ginger garlic paste, salt and mustard paste and lemon juice.

2. Rub over the chicken evenly and keep aside for at least 15 minutes.

3. Whisk yoghurt (or mayonnaise) in a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients and mix

well.

4. Rub the chicken with this mixture.

5. Keep aside for 4 hours. You can also keep the marinated chicken in the fridge overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C.

7. Skewer the chicken and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Baste with mustard oil at least

twice. Alternatively, you can also make it on a BBQ or indoor grill or in a tandoor.

8. Serve hot with lemon wedges, a green salad and green chutney.

Notes:

• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise can be used instead of the yoghurt, in case you are lactose free

like me, or choose not to eat dairy foods.