Kababs Naan Dal Tadka
These kababs naan dal tadka and tangy green chutney are a real winner! Tikka and hariyali masalas are remniscient of dhaba food and road trips and everyone will love them! The kababs are soft and succulent with rich Indian flavours. Dal tadka is the perfect accompaniment for the buttery soft naans and green chutney is a must-have dip. The marinades work with chicken, paneer and vegetables and can be cooked both in the grill and on the BBQ during summer.
To make this dish, first marinate the kebabs. You can marinate them overnight as well but it needs at least 90 minutes. While the kebabs are marinating, make the dough and leave it to rise. While that's rising, make dal and chutney. Once that's ready, you grill the kebabs and roll and grill your naan.
I've used two different marinades for the kababs - tikka masala which is red and the hariyali masala which is green. There is no food coloring in these recipes. The color will come from the ingredients. In the hariyali masala, the green colour comes from blanched spinach. In a tikka kebab the really lovely dark orange color come from Kashmiri chillies which have a really good color but don't give that much heat.
Notes on kababs
I've used boneless chicken thigh meat, without skin. This cut provides enough fat to keep the meat mist during the cooking process. Chicken breast meat can become powdery as the marinade can break down the meat. Cut all the kabab chunks quite large and ensure there sufficient space between the pieces on the skewers so it cooks evenly on all sides.
Notes on Naan
I've used a combination of wholewheat and plain flour. You can use all plain flour as well so adjust the fluid content accordingly. You would need about 20 - 30 ml less liquid. Ideally naan is cooked in a tandoor, so we need to mimic this heating effect. Place the baking sheet touching the base of the grill to make the heat source direct.
Kababs Naan Dal Tadka - Tikka and hariyali chicken and paneer kababs with homemade naan, dal tadka and spicy green chutney. Soft and succulent with rich Indian flavours!
- 500 g chicken thigh (boneless, large chunks)
- 250 g fresh paneer (large chunks)
- 2 nos large onion (large chunks)
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 100 g spinach (blanched)
- 3 tbsp coriander leaf (rough chopped)
- 2 tbsp mint leaves (rough chopped)
- 3 nos green chilles (chopped)
- 2 tbsp garlic (chopped and pounded)
- 1 tbsp ginger (chopped and pounded)
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi
- 50 ml greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp jeera powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 500 g chicken thigh (boneless, large chunks)
- 2 nos large capsicum (large chunks)
- 2 tbsp garlic (chopped and pounded)
- 1 tbsp ginger (chopped and pounded)
- 50 ml greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seed
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp jeera powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp hot chilly powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilly powder
- 300 g wholewheat/chapatti flour
- 300 g plain flour
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tbsp salt
- 3/4 tsp instant yeast
- 200 ml greek yoghurt
- 200 ml full fat milk
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 200 g masoor dal (red lentil)
- 1 tsp mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seed
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 nos medium onions (finely chopped)
- 6 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- 10 g ginger (finely chopped)
- 3 nos green chillies (finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaf (rough chopped)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp red chilly powder
- 750 ml water (approx, for boiling dal)
- 20 g fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
- 20 g fresh mint (chopped)
- 5 nos green chillies (chopped)
- 3 clove garlic (chopped and pounded)
- 5 g ginger (chopped and pounded)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 10 g tamarind piece (cleaned and deseeded)
- 30 ml water (to grind approx)
- 50 ml groundnut oil (for kababs)
- 50 g melted ghee (or butter)
Gather your ingredients
Cut chicken, paneer, onions into large chunks. Chop ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander and mint. Blanch spinach by dipping leaves in boiling water for 1 minute, then immediately plunging into icy water.
Add all hariyali ingredients (except chicken, paneer, onion and oil) into a blender and grind to a smooth paste.
Check salt levels and adjust to taste. The marinade should taste a little overpowering which will mellow during cooking. Pour half of the marinade over chicken and massage well.
Pour the other half over paneer and onions and masage well.
Add groundnut oil over all and fold it in. Set aside to marinate at least 90 minutes, or overnight.
Gather your ingredients. Chop and pound ginger and garlic.
Cut chicken and capsicum into large chunks.
Add all marinade ingredients (except chicken, capsicum and oil) into a blender and grind to a smooth paste.
Check salt levels and adjust to taste. The marinade should taste a little overpowering which will mellow during cooking. Pour half of the marinade over chicken and massage well.
Pour the rest over the capsicum and massage well.
Add groundnut oil over both and fold well. Set aside to marinate at least 90 minutes, or overnight.
Gather your ingredients.
Combine 2 flours with yeast, sugar and baking soda
Combine milk with yoghurt and salt.
Pour half the yoghurt mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well.
Add both fats and fold it in.
Add remaining yoghurt mixture and combine well to get a sticky dough.
Knead well by hand until you get a smooth dough (about 6-8 minutes). Seal the dough with groundnut oil to prevent it from drying. Lest it rest covered in a warm place or in a 50C preheated oven for 60 minutes. the dough should rise to slightly less than double.
Gather your ingredients. Chop onion, garlic, ginger and green chilly finely. Rough chop coriander leaf.
Rinse dal a few times with water.
Place dal in a pot with sufficient water to accomodate swelling dal (more than double). Add turmeric and salt.
Bring to the boil and simmer 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent dal from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
While dal is simmering, lets make tadka. Heat a large wok with ghee and bring to smoking point.
Add mustard and fenugreek seeds. It should splutter and pop.
Add onions and fry till translucent, about 5 min
Add ginger, garlic, green chilly and fry until the onion goes dark brown.
Next add all the spice powders and saute for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell goes. Do this on a medium heat.
The mixture should turn a really dark reddish brown.
The dal should be cooked by now. Add it to the tadka and stir to combine. Top up with a bit of water if required and simmer for 10 minutes. Add coriander leaf.
Set aside to cool. It will thicken a bit as it cools.
Assemble your ingredients. Make sure ginger, garlic are chopped and pounded. chop green chillies, coriander and mint leaves. Clean and de-stone tamarind.
Add all the ingredients into a blender with a bit of water to facilitate grinding.
Grind to a smooth paste and set aside refridgerated while you grill kababs and naan.
Pre-heat grill to hottest setting. Oil the skewers before piercing the kababs. Make sure there is enough gab between the pieces to allow all sides to cook.
For tikka kababs, skewer chicken and capsicum alternately.
For hariyali, alternate chicken with onion. Do the same for paneer and alternate with onion. Lay the skewers on a large tray to catch the dripping juices. Grill paneer and chicken for 20 minutes.
Paneer is ready after 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
Brush oil and tray juices over the chicken and grill for a further 20 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside.
While the kababs are grilling prepare the naan. Weigh and divide dough into 8 pieces.
Flour a surface and roll out the dough balls into an oval shape. Set aside on a tray. They will rise a bit.
Place the rolled dough in a baking tray and place at the bottom of the grill so that it is in contact with the hot oven floor. After a few minutes the naan should puff up and brown.
Remove from the grill and rub both sides with butter or ghee.
Place the fresh grilled naan on a serving plate. Slide out the kababs from the skewers using a fork. Ladle a generous serving of dal tadka and add green chutney. Garnish with onion rings and green chilly and enjoy with a cold beer!
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