Jamie's Tandoori chicken
with zingy rice salad
40 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 2
About the recipe
Tandoori chicken is full of attitude, which is why I’ve served it with a zingy, vibrant rice salad, packed with pickled onions, coriander, chillies and tomatoes. Tomatoes are very high in vitamin C, a nutrient your body needs to maintain healthy skin, teeth and bones, as well as for your immune function, so they’re a great vegetable to get into your diet. Heating the lemons in the hot frying pan is a great way to get sticky, jammy, lemony flavour into your dish, but make sure you use tongs to avoid burnt fingers.
Ingredients
2 higher-welfare chicken breasts
1 heaped teaspoon Tandoori spice mix
200g brown rice
½ a red onion
2 lemons
1 bunch of fresh coriander (15g)
100g ripe tomatoes
1 fresh green chilli
olive oil
1 carrot
1 gem lettuce
100g fat-free natural yoghurt
Method
- Fill a medium saucepan with plenty of salted water, place over a high heat and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, lay the chicken on a board and lightly score both sides with a sharp knife in a criss-cross fashion. Place in a large unsealed plastic bag, sprinkle in the Tandoori spices, then gently bash with the bottom of a heavy pan or rolling pin until slightly flattened and the spices are bashed in.
- Add the rice to the boiling water and cook for 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a sieve, then return to the warm pan, cover with a lid and put to one side off the heat.
- Meanwhile, peel the onion, then very finely slice. Place in a large bowl with a pinch of sea salt and the juice from 1 lemon. Scrunch well with clean hands until soft.
- Use a speed-peeler to peel the carrot, then continue shaving in long ribbons, then put to one side. Pick the coriander leaves and set aside, then very finely chop the stalks. Roughly chop the tomatoes, then halve, deseed and finely chop the chilli (use slightly less if you can’t handle the heat!). Add the coriander stalks, tomatoes and chilli to the onion mixture. Mix well and season to taste.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, add the chicken and fry for around 4 minutes on each side, turning from time to time, or until golden and cooked through. Meanwhile, halve the remaining lemon and place cut-side down in the pan to heat through.
- Remove the chicken to a clean board to rest. Tip the warm rice into the onion mixture and fold through. Using tongs or two forks, squeeze the jammy cooked lemon halves into the bowl (picking out any pips!).
- Spoon the rice salad onto plates. Click off the lettuce leaves and arrange around the plate, then scatter the carrot ribbons on top.
- Slice up the chicken and arrange on top of the rice, drizzle over any resting juices, then tear over the reserved coriander leaves. Drizzle over the yoghurt, then serve.
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