Plate expectations: Tandoori chicken with tomato and cucumber salad

With the use of soya yoghurt and soya creams, tandoori chicken can now be made kosher. This is an extremely likeable dish and it looks as good as it tastes.

Like most tandoori recipes, it requires at least six hours marinating time; plan it well and you will be delighted with the result; pieces of succulent chicken with a delicious curry flavour.

Tandoori paste is now available from most kosher supermarkets. Tandoori comes from the Punjab region of India and is made by tenderising the meat in a yogurt and spice marinade.

It is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, a clay oven that fires up to a high temperature but a grill or very hot oven will achieve similar results when you are cooking at home.

I like to serve this with a selection of chutneys and naan bread and a soothing dip of freshly made raita, cucumber yoghurt sauce.

Preparation time: 20 mins plus 6 hours marinating time. Cooking time: 30 mins. Serves: 4

Method

1. Make three deep slashes in each chicken fillet and put them in a non-metallic shallow dish.
2. Mix the yogurt with the tandoori curry paste, ginger, paprika, salt, lemon juice, garlic, tomato paste, green chilli and turmeric.
3. Pour over the marinade and leave for 6-8 hours or overnight.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 240°C / Gas mark 9.
5. Lift the chicken out of the marinade and put on a rack in a roasting tin. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
6. Pre-heat the grill to high. Pour over the marinade and grill the chicken for 10 minutes turning once until golden and cooked through
7. For the salad mix all the ingredients together and season just before serving.

To serve the stylish way: Garnish with lemon wedges and serve with a salad of tomatoes, coriander and cucumber.

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless – cut in half lengthways
• 4 tablespoons soya yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons tandoori curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 cm fresh ginger root – peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic – peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1-2 green chillies – finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Garnish: 1 lemon cut into wedges

Tomato, cucumber and coriander salad

• 6 salad tomatoes – deseeded and chopped
• 1 small cucumber – diced
• 1 red onion – peeled and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh coriander- roughly chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 baby cherry tomatoes- sliced
• 4 pickled dill cucumbers – sliced
• Sprigs of dill