I’ve been on a quest for the perfect tandoori marinade (without the E numbers or red food colouring) for years, and tweak my recipe on every repeat. This one is easily my favourite so far: the cloves lend a wonderful smokiness, and if you can pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning, it will have taken on an amazing depth of flavour by the evening. This would work just as well on a barbecue – just scale up the amount of chicken and the marinade ingredients as needed.
You will need four large metal or bamboo skewers (if using the latter, soak them in water for half an hour first). Serve with flatbreads or naan, and shredded lettuce, if you wish.
Prep15 minMarinate1 hrCook10 minServes2
275gchicken breast chunks, or 2 chicken breasts cut into 2½cmcubesFlatbreads or naan, to serve (optional)Shredded lettuce, to serve (optional)
For the marinade2garlic cloves, peeled and grated2½cm piece fresh ginger,peeled and gratedJuice and finely grated zest of½ lemon1 generoustsp ground cumin½tsp ground turmeric1 generoustsp smoked paprika¼tsp ground cloves1tsp chilli flakes1tsp flaky sea salt40g greek yoghurt1tbsp neutral or olive oilFor the coriander chutney30g coriander, leaves and stalks10g mint leaves1 large green chilli, stalk discarded, seeds and pith removed if you want less heat25ml neutral or olive oilJuice of½ lime1tsp flaky sea salt50g yoghurt
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces, mix well to coat, then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, blitz all the ingredients for the chutney except the yoghurt in a food processor, until roughly chopped. Add the yoghurt and quickly blitz again to a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the salt as needed, and set aside.
When you’re ready to cook, put a griddle pan on a high heat. Thread the chicken pieces on to four skewers, then cook on a very high heat for three minutes on each side, until cooked through. To check, cut into a piece of chicken: if need be, cook the skewers for another minute on each side. If you don’t have skewers, cook the chicken in a single layer in a searingly hot frying pan for the same amount of time, flipping the pieces over as required – this is a bit more fiddly than turning skewers, though.
Leave the cooked chicken to rest for three or four minutes, then serve hot with the chutney alongside, or wrap in flatbreads with shredded lettuce, if you wish.