Chicken tikka flatbreads with minted yoghurt

Serves

(Photography by Jason Lowe)

This is a great sandwich to eat straight off the barbecue. Ideally you want to make or buy chapati or similar flatbreads so they are soft and easily rolled around the chicken.

The purpose of a marinade is to tenderise the meat as well as add flavour. I prefer chicken thigh meat to breast as it doesn't dry out as much when it's cooked. For Indian spicing I'd rather start with whole spices then grind them and mix together. That way it's easier to make out the individual spices and you can adjust the mix according to your favourites.

4 medium-sized chicken thighs, boned and skinned
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
A small piece of root ginger, peeled and grated
tsp ground turmeric
Seeds of 5 cardamom pods
tsp ground cumin
Half a small to medium chilli, seeded and roughly chopped
tsp ground fenugreek
1tbsp vegetable oil
2tbsp thick yoghurt
tbsp lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 chapatis or flat breads
Lettuce and coriander leaves (optional)

For the minted yoghurt

2tbsp thick yoghurt
1tbsp chopped fresh mint

Gently cook the garlic, ginger and the rest of the spices in the vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes without colouring. Remove from the heat and coarsely blend with the yoghurt and lemon juice. If you're not using a stick blender, you'll have to stop the machine and scrape down the sides occasionally. Coat the chicken with this mixture and leave to marinade in a non-reactive (non-metal) bowl in the fridge overnight.

To serve, cook the chicken on a griddle or frying pan lightly rubbed with oil for 4-5 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, mix the yoghurt with the mint and warm the chapatis or flatbreads. Shred the chicken. Shred the lettuce and lay on the breads, scatter the chicken on top and add coriander leaves. Spoon over the yoghurt and roll up the breads.

They can be eaten hot or cold or taken on a picnic wrapped in greaseproof paper.