Tandoori Chicken

I very much doubt this is authentic, but it’s my version and it’s very good if you like it spicy.

6 chicken thigh fillets

2 Scotch bonnet chillies

50g Tandoori masala

500g full fat yoghurt

A small handful chopped coriander

A few mint leaves, chopped
Rotis to serve

We buy a bigger pot of yoghurt than 500g as it’s nice to have some to serve it with. Full fat please! Amazingly the boy is helping – he’s refusing to chop the chillies though, having done so in the past and then touched his willy. The chillies won’t end up in the dish but will add heat to the marinade.

He is mixing the yoghurt with the tandoori masala. Asha Bosle is at top volume on the kitchen CD player. Tandoori masala is a blend of loads of spices. And it’s red. Our packet has an allergens warning: contains celery. Did not know you could be allergic to celery! Brim full of Asha on the 45!

The boy is adding mint from the garden. It’s finally warm so he’s in shorts and looking cute. The slugs have eaten all our coriander shoots so that has to be shop bought. So - the yoghurt is mixed with the tandoori masala, chillies, mint and coriander. Add the chicken and let it sit there pretty much all day. I've sliced the chillies, rather than finely chopped them, so the boy can pick them out. It looks pink and unattractive.

After a good few hours, lift out the chicken and either barbeque or cook in a screaming hot griddle pan. I slash it with a knife while it’s cooking as I don’t want it to take too long. The yoghurt has done an amazing job of tenderising the chicken and I don’t want to reverse that by over cooking it. Also slashing it means I can see that it is cooked through.

We’re having ours wrapped in rotis, though tortillas would be fine. A good drizzle of yoghurt and then the chicken on top and wrap. Mine have some chilli sauce (Maggi Chilli Masala) on the yoghurt, though the boy definitely doesn’t.

All wraps tend to leak on your lap. My usual suggestion is lots of paper napkins. The boy’s idea is to take his trousers off. I’m not going to argue.