Chicken Kizhi with Parathas and Kachumber Salad

Brought to you by:

M&S Food

4 serving

Prep time: 1 hr

Cook time: 1 hr

Serves: 4

Chicken kizhi is a traditional South Indian dish made from paratha topped with marinated cooked chicken and wrapped in a banana leaf before gently steaming and serving. Wrapping the curry with paratha then sealing with the leaf lets the bread soak up all the tasty juices for maximum flavour. Chef Jack Stein created his version of this showstopper dinner dish for Indian week on Cooking With The Stars, the cookery show brought to you by M&S Food, but if you’re short on time you could use readymade M&S roti instead of making the paratha from scratch.

Share recipe

Share Pin it Print

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

10 Oakham Gold boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunky pieces
100ml 10% fat Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp chilli powder
1½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp fine salt
4 limes
16 curry leaves
320g plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
125g salted butter, melted
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely pureed with stick blender
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp garam masala
1 red onion, diced
200g cherry tomatoes
1 pinch cumin powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper
12g coriander, chopped
1 tsp white wine vinegar
4 Banana leaves or 30cm circles on foil, to steam

Method

Step 1

Mix the chicken in a medium bowl with the 10% fat Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste, 2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp fine salt, juice 2 limes and 4 curry leaves. Cover and chill for at least 30 mins, or ideally overnight.

Step 2

For the parathas: In a large bowl, mix the flour with 180ml water to make a rough dough. If it‘s a bit flaky and not coming together, add a splash more water. Once it comes together, knead it for 5 mins until the dough is smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for at least 30 mins, or up to 6 hrs.

Step 3

When you are ready to cook the chicken, heat a wok or large pan over a medium heat and add the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped and puréed onion, 1 tbsp ginger and 1 tbsp garlic pastes. Cook over a medium heat for about 8 mins until golden. Stir in the fennel and cumin seeds, ground coriander, garam masala, remaining 2 tsp chilli powder, turmeric and curry leaves and cook for a few more mins over a lower heat.

Step 4

Add the marinated chicken and fry in the masala mixture. Stir in 100ml water, cover and cook for about 20 mins until the chicken is tender. If the curry sauce is too thin, cook over a low heat for another 10 mins to thicken.

Step 5

While the chicken is cooking, finish the parathas. Lightly dust a worksurface with flour, divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll each one into a ball. Roll each ball out to a 20cm circle, brush with melted butter and then roll up from the bottom. Twist it around like a snake and then roll on the floured surface. The final paratha should be 16-18cm wide. Repeat with the other pieces. Cook in a dry frying pan set over a medium heat until puffy and brown on both sides.

Step 6

For the kachumber salad: Mix the red onion and tomatoes together with the cumin and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and white wine vinegar. Stir in the chopped coriander and slice the remaining 2 limes cut into wedges to garnish.

Step 7

To assemble the chicken kizhi, spoon some of the curry onto a paratha, place another paratha on top and wrap in a banana leaf or foil. Dry-fry for 2-3 mins in a large pan. Serve with the kachumber.

Tips or serving suggestions

Replace the banana leaves with foil if you prefer. If you have a food processor you can make the paratha dough using that, blitz the ingredients until they come together as a ball, then remove and knead as below.