Make Ahead

Indian Chicken Bites

by:
March 26, 2014
5
2 Ratings
Indian Chicken Bites
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Indian cuisine .. It's so simple really .. a grocery list of items that are familiar & non-fussy .. complexity created with just a few spices .. treated in such a way that the final product is something truly special.
~ Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking —VeggiesByCandlelight

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme (** or 1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds)
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon bright red paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the spices. Set aside.
  3. Cut each chicken thigh into 1-inch segments. Put in a separate bowl.
  4. Add the spice mix .. along with 1 Tbsp of the oil to the chicken. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes or longer
  5. Heat the remaining oil in a wok or large, nonstick frying pan over very high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken. Stir-fry quickly until the pieces are lightly browned or have turned opaque on the outside
  6. Put the pieces in a baking dish, and cover loosely with lightly oiled wax paper (which should sit inside the dish and directly on top of the chicken pieces) and bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are just cooked through.
  7. (If not to be eaten immediately, remove the pieces from the hot baking dish to prevent them from drying out)
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  • Cecilia Chung
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4 Reviews

Mary B.
Mary B. July 21, 2020
I will be adding this to my regular rotation. It was simple, quick, and tasted amazing! I made it for a quick lunch, but will definitely add it to my list of dishes to serve company; as soon as I can entertain company in my home again! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
 
Cecilia C.
Cecilia C. May 25, 2018
This was soooo easy and delicious! I chopped up a bunch of green beans into small pieces and added them to the pan once the chicken went into the oven, adding a bit more oil and half a teaspoon of garam masala to add to the flavor already clinging to the pan.
My 12 year old who hates all greens said 'even the green beans were edible' when served this with a pile of basmati rice. Thank you VeggiesByCandlelight!!
 
VeggiesByCandlelight
VeggiesByCandlelight March 26, 2014
Thank-you so much Annette, for taking a minute to leave a comment .. I truly appreciate it.

An fyi to a fellow spice lover .. Raghavan Iyer was on the Splendid Table's Key 3 podcast in August of 2013 to share his 3 favorite Indian recipes. The recipes are great, of course .. but his general commentary on Indian cooking is more than worth a listen. (http://www.splendidtable.org/story/raghavan-iyer-the-key-3)
One such nugget of info .. if one takes any given spice & hands it to a good Indian cook .. he or she should be able to extract 8 flavors from it .. depending on how they'd like to use it. (http://www.splendidtable.org/story/8-ways-to-extract-unique-flavors-from-whole-spices)

Thanks again .. I really hope you enjoy the recipe
 
cucina D.
cucina D. March 26, 2014
I love this idea... very simple and I love spices of all kinds. Thanks for sharing, I am adding this to my must-try list :)