Indian Spiced Chicken Kebabs with a Cucumber and Fresh Herb Raita

The chicken kebab looks a little weird in the picture

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• I had this craving for some Indian the other night, but I wanted something different than my usual Butter Chicken or Tikka Masala.  I started with searching Saveur for inspiration, and I ended up stumbling upon this recipe from of all people...Martha Stewart.  Who would have thought?  I altered Ms. Stewart's recipe to fit what I had in the fridge, which was only a GIANT chicken breast.  I recalled seeing on either chow.com or some other site about using a food processor to make ground meat for burgers.  Mind you, I have a meat grinder for my Kitchenaid , but it was one of those nites when I didn't feel like dealing with it.  Instead I decided to use the food processor to make essentially ground chicken.  I chopped up the chicken into inch pieces, put into the food processor and let it whirl.  What came out what necessary what I would call "ground", but it was more of a chicken puree.  Regardless, it was no longer a chicken breast and I could mix what I needed to into it.  Feel free to use ground chicken, but if you ever in a pinch, the food processor method works wonders.  The kebabs turned out delicious with lots of layers of spices and flavor.
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Indian Spiced Chicken Kebabs

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breasts or 1/2 lb. of ground chicken

• 1 whole cloves
• 1 whole cardamom pod
• 4 tablespoons of finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
•  1 tablespoon fresh coriander
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 jalapeno - chopped fine
• naan or pita, for serving
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Directions:  

Toast coriander seeds, cloves, and cardamom pod in a skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.  I then added the spices, herbs, lemon juice, and egg white into a clean food processor and blended.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Using your hands, combine all ingredients. For each kebab, shape 1/3 cup mixture into a 5-inch log; slide a skewer through center. Grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Serve with bread and raita.

Cucumber and Fresh Herb Raita

Ingredients: 

1 large cucumber, peeled

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 cup greek yogurt or low-fat plain yogurt

Large handful of chopped mint, cilantro, and coriander (coriander is optional as its hard to find)

Couple sprinkles of cumin powder and garam masala

Sprinkle red chile powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

 

Halve the cucumber lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Either very finely slice or dice the cucumber and place it in a bowl.

 

Whisk the yogurt, cumin, garam masala, and red chile powder  until smooth and add the mint, cilantro, coriander, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, pour over the cucumber and toss to coat. Chill until ready to serve. 

 

I tend to taste the Raita and add spices accordingly.  Make it your own - if you don't like garam masala or don't have it, you can leave it out.