Easy Eats: Tandoori Chicken Salad

Tandoori chicken salad with garlic cucumber yoghurt. Photo: Kelly Gibney

Pre-made tandoori paste gets you to a delicious, flavour-packed dinner fast. The chicken can be marinated for as little as 30 minutes but for even more tenderness, get the chicken marinating in the morning before you head off to work. For maximum smoky flavour, cook the chicken on a barbeque. Roasting in the oven works well too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the chicken:

80g tandoori paste

¾ cup thick natural yoghurt

600g boneless chicken thighs

For the garlic yoghurt:

10cm piece cucumber

1 cup thick natural yoghurt

1 garlic clove, minced

Handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Salt and cracked black pepper

For the salad:

120g baby spinach (or other salad greens)

Handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 ½ avocados, sliced

½ red onion, thinly sliced

2 pieces garlic naan or roti

Method

Mix the tandoori paste and yoghurt. Place in a bowl along with the chicken. Toss to evenly coat and place in the fridge to marinade for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.

Grate the cucumber and squeeze to remove most of the liquid. Combine with the yoghurt, garlic, coriander and a generous seasoning of salt and cracked pepper. Set aside until ready to use.

Heat a barbecue. Cook chicken thighs on a medium-high heat for approximately 12-15 minutes (depending on size) until they are cooked through and have an internal temperature of 75C. Alternatively bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200C.

Use a large platter for the salad. Scatter the baby spinach and fresh coriander. Add the avocado slices and red onion. Warm the naan or roti on the barbecue. Break into a few big pieces and tuck into the edge of the salad.

Slice the chicken and place on the salad. Add some dollops of the yoghurt sauce. Serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Photo: Kelly Gibney

Kelly Gibney is an Auckland-based food writer, photographer and cookbook author. Her latest book ENJOY: Food worth sharing with the people you love shares delicious and achievable ideas for making every meal memorable. She also shares weekly recipes via her newsletter.