Surrounded by Pasta,
Dreaming of Tikka
By: Nigella Lawson*
I am spoiled; there is just no other way of putting it. Not long ago I had a month long vacation in that green heart of
But then there’s human nature. There I was, plied with pasta, risotto, wild boar, homemade gelati (did I say the house came with a cook?) and after a while I began to plan dinners for when I got home: a Thai dish, maybe, or some Chinese food or something Indian and throat-scratchingly hot. The great gift of appetite, if we’re to put a positive gloss on things, is that there is always something fresh to savor.
The thing about eating pasta twice a day (as a first course, you understand, and there was always plenty to follow) is that a certain amount of restraint is needed afterward. Back home, I wanted to feast on heat and exotic, aromatic flavor, but at the same time not feel loaded down.
This chicken tikka is pretty much a gift all around. It’s ludicrously easy to make -- the perfect dinner when you’re in the full flow of working life. And it can keep anyone on a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet happy because it doesn’t taste as if it’s making concessions to either. Rice is a wonderful accompaniment, but I routinely eat it just with salad and the onion relish here.
If chicken tikka sounds complicated, it’s because the chicken tikka that most people think of is chicken tikka masala, the pseudo-Indian dish created in
Actually, it should not be disdained. But this dish is simpler and lighter. The tikka is the marinade, hot spices in cool yogurt, which tenderizes the chicken and infuses it with aromatic, mellow fire. It also happens to be just about the most beautiful way of cooking a chicken breast fillet: the meat is tinted a deep gold as the marinade that clings to the surface is cooked (forgo the butter and use a nonstick pan if you prefer, but be careful the yogurt doesn’t burn). Feel free to customize this.
I often use chunky haddock fillets in place of the chicken. The heat and sharpness of the tikka is emphatically echoed in the red onion relish, itself something of an edible artwork. The red onions gleam a translucent crimson after being steeped in lemon juice. The primary red of the tomato and the green flecks of cilantro give the dish a supercolored Bollywood glow. By all means reduce or dispense with the crushed red chilies if you want less fire.
First time around, I love the chicken fresh out of the pan alongside the spiky coldness of the relish. But I always make sure I have enough chicken to eat cold for another meal. I eat it as is, or pile lettuce on a plate, and add some sliced chicken with some onion relish on top.
I find this a particularly addictive meal, and I often leave some breast fillets in their marinade in the fridge so that are ready for me to cook up in a day or two.
As a supper to be eaten alone or with some lucky other, this is enough. When it’s a full-on dinner with a group of friends, I turn out a dense coconut marzipan cake for dessert. After the sharpness of the chicken and onion, the scented richness of the cake seduces and salves. If you live near a store that sells good coconut ice cream, then please buy a tub to serve alongside. But these days I am all restraint and go simply for a jeweled scattering of raspberries.
CHICKEN TIKKA
Time: 35 minutes, plus at least 4 hours’ marinating
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 small red chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (available in many supermarkets and specialty stores)
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon peanut oil
4 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 or 2 limes cut into thin wedges.
1. In a food processor or blender, combine garlic, ginger and chilies. Process until finely chopped. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, lime juice, yogurt and 3 tablespoons peanut oil. Process again to make a smooth paste.
2. Place yogurt mixture in a wide, shallow bowl. Add chicken pieces, turning them to coat them well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate a minimum of four hours.
3. Allow chicken to come to room temperature before cooking. Remove chicken from marinade, scraping off excess. Place a large skillet over medium-low heat, and add butter and remaining teaspoon peanut oil. When butter has melted, add chicken. Sauté, turning once or twice, until chicken is golden brown on surface and white in center, 15 to 20 minutes. (Adjust heat as necessary so that yogurt does not burn.) Arrange chicken on a platter, and garnish with lime wedge.
Yield: 4 servings.
COCONUT MARZIPAN CAKE
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
8 ounces (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 ounces marzipan
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
6 large eggs
1 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 cups fresh raspberries or other fruit
1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar.
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform ring mold, and sprinkle flaked coconut around its bottom and sides. Soften marzipan by heating it in a microwave oven, 10 to 15 seconds.
2. In a food processor, combine marzipan, 8 ounces butter, the sugar and coconut extract. Process until mixture is very smooth. With processor running, break eggs one at a time through the feed tube. Stop processor and sprinkle cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt evenly over batter. Process again until mixture is smooth, making sure there are no lumps in batter.
3. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake until surface is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool in pan until slightly warm.
4. To release cake from pan, remove springform ring. Holding a cake plate over the center tube of pan, invert cake so that it falls onto plate. Fill center of cake with berries and scatter remainder around perimeter of cake. Pass confectioners’ sugar through a small sieve and sprinkle over cake and fruit. Serve immediately.
Yield: 8 to 10 slices.
* Nigella Lawson is the author, most recently, of “Feast: Food That Celebrates Life” and the host of “Nigella Bites,” on the Style Network and E! Entertainment Television.
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