Tandoori-style chicken skewers with green rice and cherry salad
- Published: 6 Jul 18
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Take your barbecue up a notch with lightly charred courgette, pepper and marinated chicken skewers. Serve them alongside the green rice and cherry salad for a guaranteed family favourite.
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 red chillies, tops removed
- 30g fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- Juice 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve (optional)
- 450ml full-fat greek yogurt, plus extra to serve
- 8 British free-range skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 3-4cm chunks
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 3cm pieces
- 2 courgettes, sliced 1.5cm thick
For the rice salad
- 200g wild and basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes in cold water, then drained
- 150g green beans, trimmed
- 125g baby leaf spinach
- 2 ripe avocados, stoned, peeled and sliced
- 150g cherries, stoned, halved
- Bunch fresh mint, leaves roughly chopped
- Bunch fresh coriander, leaves roughly chopped
- Bunch fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped
For the dressing
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- Juice 3 limes
- 5 tbsp olive oil
You’ll also need…
- 8 large metal skewers
Method
- In a small food processor, whizz the garlic, whole chillies, ginger, olive oil and all the spices with a large pinch of salt. Add the lemon juice and a splash of water to make a paste (or pound in a pestle and mortar). Mix together the paste and yogurt in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken.
- Toss the chicken pieces in the yogurt marinade to coat, then cover and chill for at least 3 hours.
- For the rice salad: put the soaked rice in a large saucepan with 500ml water. Simmer for 12-15 minutes until tender. Drain off any water, then refresh under cold water until cool. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, boil a pan of water and cook the green beans for 2-3 minutes until just tender, drain and refresh under cold water, then drain again and set aside with the rice. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and season to taste.
- When the chicken has marinated enough, divide the chunks evenly among the metal skewers, alternating with pieces of pepper and courgette. Heat a griddle pan, grill or barbecue. Cook the skewers on a medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, turning regularly, until the chicken is cooked through. If cooking on a griddle pan, you’ll need a to add a little oil to stop the meat sticking. The chicken will take longer than you think to cook; don’t worry if it chars a little as this adds flavour.
- To assemble the salad put the cooled rice and beans in a large serving bowl and toss through the spinach, avocados, cherries, herbs and seasoning. Just before serving toss through the dressing, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve with the skewers, extra yogurt and lemon wedges, if you like.
- Recipe from June 2017 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 899kcals
- Fat
- 48.6g (14.4g saturated)
- Protein
- 52.6g
- Carbohydrates
- 57g (15.2g sugars)
- Fibre
- 11.9g
- Salt
- 0.6g
delicious. tips
Chillies vary in heat so add just one if you don’t like your food too spicy. You can serve chopped chillies at the table for those who like extra heat. If you can’t get hold of cherries, try adding pomegranate seeds instead.
Marinate the chicken the day before and keep covered in the fridge.
Any leftover rice and chicken can be stored in the fridge, covered. Eat cold as a salad within 2-3 days, with a little extra yogurt on the side.
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