Spicing up the grill...just a little!

I am sure I have waxed lyrical (and indeed tunelessly) about my children’s abhorrence of the word ‘spicy’ and the heat that it so often connotes. I live in hope that they may one day learn to appreciate a curry with more than half a chile in it. In the meantime, however, I try to find recipes which satisfy their need to be protected from any sensation of tongue-burning heat, AND meet my need for food with a rich taste and substantial flavor. This dish fit the bill perfectly – it is delicately spiced with Indian-style flavors, and yet is about as far as you can get from Vindaloo-style heat short of just giving up and ordering a cheese pizza.

The original recipe comes from a fabulous book that (in a fit of sheer altruistic and completely selfless generosity… obviously) I bought for my husband last year for Father’s Day. Every recipe we have tried from this book has been fabulous, and I highly recommend it: The World of Kebabs  by Aband Prakash. I decided it needed some chutney because….well, I like sauce, so the recipe below is for a simple, delicious, and only slightly hot (!) chutney that was delicious dolloped on top (the original for which, I found on Allrecipes.com)

I served these kebabs accompanied by a couscous salad I have blogged about before (click here), but I left out the feta cheese, since it just didn’t seem to go, somehow. And alongside that, I served the Indian-style Collard Greens I just blogged about here. All in all, a delicious meal, and one which the spice-lovers and spice-averse all enjoyed – miracle!

Creamy Chicken Kebabs – Murgh Malai Kabab
Serves 6 as an entrée

½ cup heavy cream
2 TBSP lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg
24 chicken breast tenders
24 presoaked bamboo skewers
melted butter for basting

1.       Measure the first 8 ingredients into a large bowl (up to and including nutmeg), and stir to combine.

2.       Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat.

3.       Set aside and refrigerate for 5-6 hours

4.       Insert wooden skewers along the length of each chicken tender (weave the skewer in and out like a rough running stitch).

5.       Grill over medium heat until chicken is cooked through, basting with melted butter.

6.       Serve with mint and cilantro chutney (see below)

 

Mint and Cilantro Chutney

2 cups fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
1 ½ cups fresh mint leaves
1 green chile pepper (jalapeno), seeds removed and roughly chopped
½ tsp salt
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 TBSP lemon juice
up to ¼ cup water

1.    In a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients except the water. Process until they form a fine paste.

2. Add water gradually until desired consistency is reached