Nadiya Hussain’s Spiced Yoghurt Chicken Skewers with a Fennel, Watercress and Mint Salad
Nadiya Hussain's gently spiced yoghurt kebabs can be made in advance for a quick and easy midweek dinner with plenty of flavour.
From the book
Nadiya’s Kitchen
Over 100 recipes for Nadiya's favourite home-cooked dishes
Fuss-free inspiration for every day of the week
Traditional family classics with a twist
Introduction
I grew up with a dad who worked in restaurants, and he would come home with amazing skewered kebabs that came straight out of a 200°C tandoor. They were always moist, spiced beautifully and charred to perfection. But they’re tough to recreate on a domestic hob, where two of the rings don’t work unless you say a prayer and the other two are hanging on for dear life. These skewers have just the right amount of spice, and if cooked on a hot griddle they achieve a similar charred effect with an amazing flavour. Together with the salad they make a fresh and healthy lunch. The little kids like to eat the chicken straight off the skewers . . . as do the big kids. I like to make a large batch and freeze them, then take them out when we’re having a barbecue.
Ingredients
| For the skewers: | |
| 1 tbsp | olive oil |
| 600g | skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3cm square pieces |
| 4cm | piece of ginger, peeled and chopped |
| 4 | cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped |
| 1 | green chilli, finely chopped (deseeded for less heat) |
| salt, to taste | |
| 130ml | Greek yoghurt |
| ½ tsp | chilli powder |
| ½ tsp | turmeric |
| ½ tsp | sugar |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | paprika |
| 1 tsp | garam masala |
| For the salad: | |
| 2 large handfuls | tender watercress (approximately 50g) |
| ½ bulb | fennel, very thinly sliced |
| 1 large handful | fresh mint, roughly chopped (1 small pack) |
| 2 tbsp | lemon juice |
| 1 tbsp | olive oil |
Essential kit
You will need: six metal or wooden skewers.
Method
Prep: 25 minutes, plus marinating Cook: 20 minutes
To make the skewers: Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C. Rub two baking trays with a thin layer of olive oil. Using a pestle and mortar, bash the ginger, garlic and chilli with a pinch of salt until you have a smooth paste. Now add all the other ingredients, including some more salt to taste. Give it a good mix. Alternatively, this can be done in a small food processor.
Rub the paste all over the chicken pieces and leave, covered, to marinade for at least 30 minutes – longer if possible. Shake any excess marinade off the chicken and thread the pieces on to skewers (if you are using wooden sticks, soak them in cold water for 15 minutes before use).
Put the skewers on the baking trays and cook for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through to make sure they cook evenly.
To make the salad: Put the watercress, sliced fennel and mint in a bowl, and toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Serve the salad with the skewers.
