Recipes

This is a meal that my dad served up at his restaurant all day, every day – probably one of the most popular dishes. So, I’ve decided to make my own version – tender spiced chicken and roasted veg, all served up with a naan. I don’t have a tandoor, but we do have an oven, and with that, a good brine and a decent marinade, we can make the same thing.

Start by brining the chicken. Put the salt, vinegar and water in a large bowl. Mix and add the chicken thighs. Cover, set aside and leave to brine for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, mix the marinade by putting the oil, paprika, garlic, ginger, salt, yoghurt and chickpea flour in a bowl and whisking till you have a smooth paste.

Now, prep the veg and put the red onion, peppers and pickled eggs into a roasting tin. Mix well with the oil and salt and set aside.

Once the chicken has been brining for an hour, drain and remove any excess brine water.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas mark 7.

Add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade and mix well. To get a really intense flavour or simply to get ahead, you could marinate this beforehand and leave it covered in the fridge overnight.

You will need eight skewers. Push a whole chicken thigh onto two skewers, one skewer on each side of the thigh so the meat is spread out. Add more thighs to the same pair of skewers, not too tight together or the meat won’t cook through. Repeat with the other skewers and thighs so you have four sets. Lay the skewers horizontally across the roasting tin so they dangle above the vegetables and the juices run into them.

Cover with a piece of baking paper, then foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover the chicken, remove the foil and paper, and bake for another 20 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through with some tasty, charred bits. Take the chicken off the skewers and slice.

Sprinkle coriander over the vegetables and mix. Get some warm naan, fill with the hot veg and sliced chicken, drizzle over some good chilli sauce and enjoy.