Friday, December 9, 2011

A Twist on Tandoori

So in an attempt to not have to cook a 'full' meal as often, I try to get hubby to grill part of it on weekends.  Now that it's getting colder out he still doesn't seem to mind which is awesome since grilling on the bbq is so much better than the indoor grill!

So last week I wanted to attempt a grilled tandoori burger recipe.  I ended up not being able to find all the ingredients (went to 3 stores for green onions and just couldn't find them! - apparently you can substitute onion/leek or shallot for them though so that's what I tried).  I also had forgotten to get some naan bread.  Again - no biggie as I had some tortillas.  Well, it didn't turn out like the picture at all (obviously!) but it didn't really remind me of tandoori chicken either - more like the shawarma I made before.  It was good but I don't think hubby was impressed.  Turned it from a dinner into a lunch dish in my opinion.  I would like to try the unaltered recipe at some point though. For now, here's my take on the tandoori chicken recipe I found here.

What you need: (ignore the coke in the background - though I did actually have one with dinner) :-)
I used 2 packages of ground chicken (this let me have leftovers for 2 days of lunch)
1 medium/large onion (4 green onions if you have them)
3 Tbsp ginger - I used the sushi ginger and diced it as I didn't have fresh
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 cucumber
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
1 thinly sliced red onion
feta cheese
tortillas  (naan if you have it instead)

I made Ttzatziki dip for the sauce: (you can also buy it premade at Coop/Migros if you prefer)
Combine all in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use:
1 -2 containers of natural Greek yogurt - depending on the amount you want
Shred 1/2 a cucumber with a cheese grater
1 tbsp minced garlic
dill or mint - about 1 tbsp

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan.

Slice the remaining cucumber into strips.  Slice the red onion thinly and crumble the feta.  Set aside.

In a bowl large enough for your chicken, put the ground chicken along with the spices and diced onion.  Mix well.  Put in your pan with the heated oil and cook until done, mixing frequently.

In your tortilla, layer the dip, chicken mixture, cucumbers, onions and feta.  Place in a heated grill (or in a pan with something heavy on top - like another pan with canned foods in it - making sure to put baking (wax) paper between the wrap and top pan).  Cook until heated through.

I also added a bit of basmati rice to the wrap


I sliced the wrap in half and served with a side of tzatziki dip.  Enjoy!