Tandoori Chicken & Naan (Indian Flat Bread)

A little taste of Indian - main dish adapted from Rachel Ray's "Almost Tandoori Chicken." 

Ingredients:

1 cup Greek (plain) yogurt

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 tablespoon coriander

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons garam masala (if you have it)

1 lime, zested

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 green apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced into matchsticks

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and very thinly sliced lengthwise

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

4 pieces naan bread, plain or flavored, store-bought, warmed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the yogurt with the spices and zest of lime in a large bowl.

Combine spices and yogurt

Cut the chicken into large chunks and season liberally with salt and pepper.
*Cook's Note:  I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, already cut into portion-sized pieces.

Salt & pepper the chicken thighs

Add chicken to the yogurt mixture and toss to coat evenly.

Cook's note:  I allowed my meat to marinate 6 hours.  Traditional tandoori recipes suggest marinating for 8 hours to overnight.

Put a small wire rack on a baking sheet or a slotted broiler pan. *Cook's Note:  I simply used a large sheet tray, lined with foiled & sprayed with oil. Arrange the chicken on the rack or slotted pan.

Roast until charred at the edges and juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

Combine the apple, tomatoes and scallions (or green onions) in a serving bowl. Add the lime juice, oil, and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine.

Simple 3 ingredients for your topping 

Slice Apple

Cut into matchsticks

Final Topping

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve with apple-tomato topping and warm bread (naan recipe follows).

EASY NO-YEAST NAAN

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsps melted butter

2 tbsps plain yogurt

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp baking powder

Salt to taste

Water, as needed

Finely chopped coriander (optional) 

In a wide bowl, mixed dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder). Give it a quick mix to incorporate.  Add wet ingredients (butter, yogurt, garlic, coriander).  Mix.

Add water slowly, to make a soft dough that pulls away from the bowl. 

Dough will be sticky.

Sprinkle with a little flour, knead dough 1-2 minutes.

After 1st Kneading

Sprinkle with more flour and knead for another 1-2 minutes, until you get a nice, smooth dough. 

After 2nd kneading

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest 30 minutes in bowl. 

Heat a wide skillet to very hot (almost smoking).  Cover it to assist in keeping it hot. 

After 30 minutes, unwrap dough, sprinkle with flour and knead 1-2 minutes. 

I added some poppy seeds

Put dough on floured surface

Cut dough into 4 - 6 equal size pieces.  

Cut into 4-6 pieces

Take a small ball full of dough and roll it out, roughly into a circle.   Shape really doesn't matter, but remember, thinner naan will obviously cook quicker. 

Have a small bowl of water handy.  You will pat your naan dough with water before placing it in the hot skillet.  This will help it to brown. 

Sprinkle naan with water just before putting into hot skillet

1st placed in skillet

Cover skillet to assist in holding in the heat

When you see bubbles, flip naan over and cook on other side. 

Bubbles (1)

Bubbles (2) 

 Remove from skillet, and immediately butter it. 

Add some butter and serve while warm!