Happy 4th of July, ‘merican friends. Â Hope you had a lovely long weekend, Canadian friends. May I introduce you to Butter Chicken on a stick? Â I made these marinated skewers one evening last week and it took all my willpower to save one to photograph the next day so that I could share it with you.
I spent my weekend with my sister, who came to visit from Calgary. We spent three glorious days splashing in the pool, making sand castles at the beach, and wandering around the aquarium with the little ones.
Also eating. Lots of eating.
I know she will be disappointed when she reads this that I didn’t make it again for her while she was here – she would definitely love it.
Related: The Only 11+ Chicken Drumstick Recipes You’ll Ever Need
I didn’t set out for the recipe to taste like butter chicken, but it definitely does and it’s definitely delicious. Juicy grilled chicken mopped with a delicious yogurty, tomatoey, spiced sauce.
Just toss all of the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor and let the appliance do all the work. A long soak really benefits the flavour, so try to start in the morning (or the night before) for the most delicious results.
I love these kinds of recipes for entertaining – the ones where the actual preparation is done in advance, so you aren’t scrambling in the kitchen when your friends arrive.
It’s also a great family-meal strategy. I find it a big stress reliever to have a meal mostly prepped when you have angry little hungry monsters as soon as five o’clock rolls around.
(If I dare linger at the playground until 4:30 and have nothing prepared in advance for dinner, I will have a stomping, whining four-year-old and a screaming, leg-clinging one-and-a-half-year-old to manage while I’m creating a veritable bomb scene in the kitchen, trying to turn out a meal before total meltdown occurs.)
If you don’t have cardamom, you can just leave it out. Each of the spices add a layer of flavour in Indian dishes, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be delicious if you drop one.
Grilled Butter Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
- ½ cup plain full-fat greek yogurt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 10 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp whole peppercorns or about a heaping 1/4 tsp ground
- seeds of 6 cardamom pods or about 3/4 tsp ground
- 2 ¼ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- Place all marinade ingredients in a small blender or food processor and process on high speed until completely smooth. Pour into a shallow baking dish, add chicken, and turn to coat. Marinate at least 1 hour, preferably at least 4 hours (and up to 24 hours).
- Preheat a grill at medium-high for about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, thread the chicken onto skewers. Grill chicken about 6 minutes on each side, until internal temperature reaches 165º F.
