Food Safari's tandoori chicken

This recipe is from a beautiful Pakistani woman called Nighat who makes her own bread every morning and thinks nothing of catering for fifty people! The chicken, with its incredible fresh mint sauce, is simple and very, very delicious. Serve with roti, tomato and lettuce. If you enjoyed Nighat's Food Safari recipe, you might also like our fast-and-easy tandoori chicken pizza, using a whole roasted chicken\or pappadums with tandoori chicken.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g natural yoghurt 
• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger 
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic 
• 1 tbsp tandoori paste 
• ½ tsp tandoori food colouring (optional) 
• 2 tsp ground cumin 
• 2 tsp ground coriander 
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• ½ tsp chilli powder 
• ½ tsp turmeric 
• salt
• 1 kg chicken breast or thigh fillets 

Mint sauce

• 200 g natural yoghurt 
• 1 bunch mint, roughly chopped 
• 1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped 
• ½ small onion, roughly chopped 
• 1 tomato, roughly chopped 
• 2 tbsp dried pomegranate seeds, ground 
• 1 tsp turmeric
• chilli powder
• salt

Marinating time 2 hours

Instructions

To prepare the chicken, combine the ingredients except for the chicken in a bowl, stirring until well combined. Add the chicken and coat well (the best way is to rub the mixture in with your hands). Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

To make the mint sauce, combine the ingredients in a blender, adding chilli powder and salt to taste. Blend until smooth.

Preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 120°C and cook until tender. Serve with the mint sauce.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.