Here’s a great Indian chicken kabab that’s really easy to make. The cumin, cloves, garlic, ginger, garam masala and yogurt give it one of the quintessential “Indian” flavors.
Note that you’ll really want to marinade the chicken in the yogurt mixture at least overnight, and chicken thighs will make for a more flavorful and juicy chicken, over breast meat.
What you’ll need
- 4 cloves (ground in a spice grinder)
- 3T cumin seeds (ground in a spice grinder)
- 0.33 cups plain, whole-milk yogurt (Greek or Middle Eastern, if possible)
- 4T peeled and chopped ginger
- 4T chopped garlic
- 1.5t chili powder
- 1T garam masala
- 1.5t paprika
- 0.5t kosher salt
- 1 lb skinned and deboned chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
- 8 – 10 wooden skewers
Put all the ingredients but the chicken into a blender or small food processor and blend until you have a smooth paste.
Cut up the chicken thighs into strips and pieces appropriate for threading on wooden skewers. In a bowl or sealable freezer bag, combine the chicken and marinade, ensuring each piece of chicken is slathered in marinade. Cover the bowl or seal the bag and refrigerate at least overnight or 24 hours.
Before you’re planning to grill or broil, submerge the skewers in water for at least an hour, which will help (but not completely prevent) them from charring too much while cooking.
When you’re ready to cook, remove the skewers from soaking and thread chicken pieces on each one. When they’re all threaded, it’s time to cook. If broiling in an oven, set it to high-temp broil. Put cooking racks on a sheet pan and oil the grates or spray them with cooking spray. Lay the chicken across the grates and put the sheet pan in the oven, directly under and as close to the broiler as possible. Cook for a few minutes, checking often, then turning the skewers just when the chicken starts to show black char marks. Once flipped over, cook for a few more minutes, again looking for the char marks.
At this point, the chicken should be done, but if you’re concerned it’s not, check the internal temperature of the largest chunk of chicken with an instant-read thermometer. It should read at least 165 degrees F.
If you’re cooking on a grill, get the grill good and hot before oiling the grates and adding the chicken. Like for broiling, let the chicken cook for a few minutes, until it shows char marks. Flip the skewers over and cook equally as long before removing from the grill.
Serve hot with lemon or lime wedges.
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