Tandoori Chicken and Seekh Kebab

Well, I went and done it. With my son Taishi's help, we made tandoori chicken, seekh kebab and grilled naan on our tiny balcony barbecue last night. It went swimmingly! Taishi has become an expert little helper. Recipes to follow. Click on pictures for larger versions.

My pathetic balcony grill setup

Taishi tending the chimney starter; observe awed expression

We started with our trusty chimney starter. We have emergency equipment (a plant spray bottle) standing by just in case and a plan in place for a total breakdown of operations (run away) but we seem to have gotten it down to a science by now.

When the coals are white hot, Taishi stands by with the the spray bottle while I dump them into the grill (a few coals always spill out and he extinguishes them with maximum efficiency) and then I arrange them and put on the grill, which I clean and oil with paper towels.

Then we put on the seekh kebab.

The kebabs raw. You turn them with tongs, not the skewer.

 I turned them once every five minutes or so and they turned out fantastically. Then it was the chicken's turn.

Chicken in its marinade

In this case it was chicken thighs, not breasts, which tend to dry out too much.

Chicken on its first side; watch for flareups

Just leave it alone for ten minutes, but give a quarter turn to the grate every 3 minutes or so to ensure even cooking.

The grillmaster inspects his birds

The grillmaster's assistant assesses doneness

And the whole grilling process took about twenty minutes, with ten minutes on each side.

And the chicken is done.

And then the store-bought naan, just to give it some smoky flavour.

You just want to do these for about three minutes on each side.

 Eh voilà! Except, as I said, last night we ate stroganoff. Tonight the tandoori chicken will be transformed into Butter Chicken!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tandoori Chicken
 This recipe is a combination of several recipes from my Indian library. I improvised on some amounts, omitted some, and added others.

The ingredient list looks daunting, and obviously you need to have the spices at hand, but it's worth it. But if you do, it will take at most an hour to assemble everything.

Ingredients
12 boneless, skinless, featherless chicken thighs, brined

Marinade
6 large cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic crusher
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 teaspoons ground coriander
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground fennel
4 teaspoons tandoori spice (available from Penzey's spices)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon Sri Lankan spice blend (I make my own)
½ teaspoon ground cinammon
2 teaspoons salt
¾ cup yogurt
¾ cup crème fraîche
Juice of 2 lemons
6 drops red food coloring (optional)

Method
Mix all ingredients and marinate chicken for 24 hours.
Soak 2 cups of wood chips (hickory, mesquite etc.) for 30 minutes prior to grilling. Drain. Prepare grill with chimney starter and use wood charcoal, not charcoal briquets. When the coals in the chimney starter are ready, empty into grill with all coals at same level, with wood chips.

When tops of coals turn into white ash, place chicken evenly. Grill ten minutes without turning chicken, but turn the grate a quarter turn every three minutes or so to ensure even grilling. Use spray bottle to control flareups.

Turn chicken and repeat for ten more minutes. Finish with lemon juice. Serve immediately or save for butter chicken.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seekh Kebab
 This recipe is also a combination of several recipes from my Indian library. Again, I improvised on some amounts, omitted some, and added others.

This is basically an Indian-spiced ground beef recipe that is skewered and grilled.

Ingredients
1 lb. very lean, high quality ground beef (ask your butcher to grind some top sirloin for you so you know what's in it).

1 medium onion, very finely minced
4 cloves garlic, very finely minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, grated (I find it easy to freeze the ginger and grate with a Microplane grater)
1 - 2 red serrano chilies, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinammon
1 teaspoon salt
2 small eggs

Wet ingredients

Dry ingredients + wet ingredients

Method
Combine the spice mixture with the beef. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly. Press a cylinder of meat about the size of a small hot dog around a flat-bladed skewer (metal is best). Repeat with remaining meat mixture.

Heat grill with wood chips on a one-level fire. Be sure to oil the grate with a paper towel so the skewers don't stick. Place the skewers perpendicular to the grate, not touching. Leave for five minutes, turn to opposite side (I find a metal spatula helps lift them from the grate) with tongs. If you try to turn with the skewers they will just spin around inside the meat. Repeat with five minutes on all sides.

Serve on lettuce leaves with cucumber raita (recipe to follow).