Robin Ellis

This is adapted from the Indian actress and cookery write Madhur Jaffrey again, whose spicy green beans from a recent post, would be a good accompaniment.

I’ve cooked from her BBC series cookbook-“Indian Cookery” for many years–it may be out of print now but is worth seeking out. She says in the introduction,
that her mother once told her, her passion for food dates back to “the hour of my birth, when my Grandmother wrote the sacred syllable”Om” (I am”) on my tongue with a finger dipped in honey. I was apparently observed smacking my lips rather loudly.” Something we do regularly after eating from one her recipes!

An overnight marinade in this delicious blend of familiar spices and a quick turn on a griddle* make these strips of chicken breast a handy lunch option.

for 4/6

2lb/1k free range boneless chicken breast— skin removed, washed, patted dry
and cut into 1″/2cm strips

the marinade:

5 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 medium onion–roughly chopped

1 head of garlic–peeled and roughly chopped

1” nob of ginger–peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons each of fennel seeds and ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds

8 cardoman pods and 8 whole cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

20 black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons salt–sea salt for preference and “Malden” if you can find it

• Liquidise the marinade ingredients.
• Add the resulting mush to the bowl in which you have put the strips of chicken.
• Turn it all over–making sure the chicken is well covered by the marinade.
• Cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge overnight.
• Heat a griddle to hot and cook the strips in batches.
• Depending on the thickness allow them a couple of minutes a side. Cut into one to test for doneness–if it looks too pink let it cook on a few seconds more.