Wednesday 3 August 2016

Tandoori Chicken Nachos with Cheddar Sauce.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

So, I first made these nachos in Ramadan for Iftar one night.

And of course, they were a roaring success.

I mean, why wouldn't they be? Seriously, look at their name.
Who doesn't love chicken? Who doesn't love tandoori chicken?! Nachos are the ultimate favourite with everyone because you're basically eating crisps and calling it dinner. And, covered with a Cheddar sauce? More cheese? Yes, please.

I hope these nachos become a favourite in your house as they have done in mine. The tandoori chicken is super easy to make but can be subbed for any leftover chicken you have in the fridge. Throw on your favourite toppings and bake. While the nachos do their thing in the oven, whisk up a quick Cheddar sauce to drizzle over when they come out. Eat immediately!

Nachos, previously: cheesy chicken nachos

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Tandoori Chicken:
1. Crushed Red Chilli Flakes
2. Salt
3. Lemon Juice
4. Plain Yoghurt
5. Garam Masala
6. Ginger Paste
7. Garlic Paste
8. Vegetable Oil
9. Tandoori Masala
10. Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces

For the Nachos:
1. Tortilla Chips
2. Tomato Salsa
3. Spring Onions
4. Cherry Tomatoes
5. Jalapeno Chillies
6. Sweetcorn
7. Cheddar Cheese
8. Fresh Coriander

For the Cheddar Sauce:
1. Butter
2. Plain Flour
3. Milk
4. Cheddar Cheese
5. Salt
6. White Pepper

Bismillah, let's begin!

To begin, let's marinade the tandoori chicken. This marinade happens in one bowl which means clean-up is the easiest. Take 1 pound (500 grams) Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces.

Add 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Chilli Flakes.

And, 1/2 teaspoon Salt.

Next, lemon juice. You can use a bottle or fresh.

Add in 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice.

Stir everything up and leave the chicken to sit for 30 minutes. During this time, the lemon juice will begin to soften the chicken pieces making them really nice to eat. 
However, if you are in a rush (like I was when I made this), feel free to skip the 30 minutes and continue straight on.

Next, plain yoghurt. We love this Lancashire Farm yoghurt in our family - nothing else will do!

Add in 4 tablespoons Plain Yoghurt. Even Greek yoghurt would be delicious here!

Next, 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala.

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Ginger Paste

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Paste

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

And, finally the main spice. Add in 2 teaspoons Tandoori Masala. I love tandoori masala and really need to use it more often in my cooking. It's not crazy spicy and has this wonderful aroma/taste to it. I know it's famously used in tandoori chicken but I recently made the best baked fish with it.

Anyway, after all that tandoori masala appreciation, stir up the chicken.

Cover and marinade for a few hours or overnight. But again, if you're in a real rush, feel free to cook straight away.

You can cook the chicken any way you like - grill it, bake it or cook in a dry pan like I did. Take a large pan with a lid and place over a high heat.

Add the chicken with all its marinade.

Bring it to the boil.

Cover with a lid and turn the heat right down.

Then, set a timer for 20 minutes.

When the timer goes off, uncover.

Bring to the boil and let the chicken bubble until the liquid has thickened.

Like this! Then, leave the chicken to cool completely.

Once the chicken is cold, slice/shred it up.

Place it back in the pan with the sauce and stir to coat well. Resist the temptation to snack on it all day!


Next, it's time to assemble and bake our nachos. Gather together all your ingredients.


Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Line a large baking tray with paper - I used this one!


First, the most important bit of any tray of nachos - the tortilla chips. I used 400 grams Tortilla Chips. These were just plain and lightly salted.


Add them to the tray.


And, spread out evenly.


Next, 300 grams Tomato Salsa. I used a mild one because I'm secretly a spice wimp but you can use any you like. Some of my juicy homemade one would be amazing here.


Dollop the salsa all over the chips.


Then, the star of the show - the cooked and cooled tandoori chicken.


Place it on evenly so that everyone gets a bite of the delicious chicken!

Next, 5 Spring Onions, sliced. I separated mine into whites and greens.

I sprinkled the spring onion whites over the chicken and saved the greens for later.


Next, a few Cherry Tomatoes, sliced.


Place them on.


Next, 2 Jalapeno Chillies, sliced.


On they go!


Next, sprinkle on Sweetcorn, to taste.


Next, cheese! Grate Cheddar, to taste. I prefer grating my own cheese as opposed to buying it pre-grated. The pre-grated has this coating on it which I find doesn't melt as well.


I didn't use as much cheese as normal because later I'll be drizzling everything with a Cheddar sauce.


Next, fresh coriander.


Sprinkle over Fresh Coriander, chopped and to taste.


Along with the Spring Onion Greens. Place the nachos into the oven at 200C for 10 minutes or until the chips are crisp and the cheese has melted.

While the nachos bake, let's whip up a quick Cheddar sauce. We begin with butter and plain flour.

Into a saucepan, place 20 grams Butter.


Let it melt over a low heat.


Once melted, add in 20 grams Plain Flour.


Stir well.


Cook for a minute until the flour has been cooked through.


Next, take 120 ml Milk.


Pour it in.


Stir in.


Then, take 115 grams Cheddar, grated.


Add it in - it's a lot but this is a Cheddar sauce.


Stir it in.


Let the cheese melt.


Whisk until smooth.


This sauce is basically a thicker version of a normal cheese sauce. If you prefer it looser, just whisk in more milk.


To finish, remove from the heat. Add in 1/4 teaspoon Salt and 1/4 teaspoon White Pepper.


Whisk in and the sauce is done.

If you let this sauce sit around and get cold, it will thicken up even more. To get it loose again, heat in a pan or microwave.


By now, the 10 minutes and the nachos should be done!


These nachos are best eaten straight away.


But first, let's drizzle them with our Cheddar sauce.


Enjoy!

Full Written Recipe:


Tandoori Chicken Nachos with Cheddar Sauce.

Prep Time: About 30 minutes + extra time to marinade chicken.
Cook Time: About 20 minutes for chicken + 10 minutes for nachos.
Serves: About 6 people.

Ingredients

For the Tandoori Chicken

The First Marinade
1 pound (500 grams) Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces
½ teaspoon Crushed Red Chilli Flakes
½ teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

The Second Marinade
4 tablespoons Plain Yoghurt
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Ginger Paste
½ teaspoon Garlic Paste
4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
2 teaspoons Tandoori Masala

For the Nachos
400 grams Tortilla Chips
300 grams Tomato Salsa
The Cooked Tandoori Chicken
5 Spring Onions, sliced
Few Cherry Tomatoes, sliced
2 Jalapeno Chillies, sliced
Sweetcorn, to taste
Grated Cheddar, to taste
Fresh Coriander, to taste and sliced

For the Cheddar Sauce
20 grams Butter
20 grams Plain Flour
120 ml Milk
115 grams Cheddar, grated
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon White Pepper

Method

To marinade the tandoori chicken, mix all the first marinade ingredients together and leave to sit for 30 minutes.
Then, add in all the second marinade ingredients and stir well. Cover and marinade for a few hours or overnight.

To cook the tandoori chicken, place a large pan over a high heat. Add in the chicken along with all its marinade and bring to the boil. Then, cover and turn the heat right down. Cook, like this, for 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
Uncover the chicken and turn up the heat. Let the liquid thicken before removing from the heat. Let the chicken completely cool before slicing the pieces up and tossing with the thick gravy in the pan.

To bake the nachos, pre-heat the oven to 200C. Line a large baking tray with paper.
Place on the tortilla chips followed by the salsa, chicken, spring onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, sweetcorn, grated Cheddar and fresh coriander.
Bake for 10 minutes until the chips are crisp and the cheese has melted.

While the nachos are baking, make the Cheddar sauce. Place the butter in a saucepan and let it melt over a low heat. Add the flour and mix. Cook for 1 minute.
Slowly, add the milk and stir until smooth. Finally, stir in the Cheddar. It will be thicker than a normal white sauce.
Once the cheese has melted, loosen with more milk, if your prefer. Finish by stirring in the salt and white pepper.

To serve, as soon as the nachos come out of the oven, drizzle with the Cheddar sauce. Serve immediately.

This Time One Year Ago:
chicken marinated in chilli garlic oil with chickpea greek salad + minty greek yoghurt

This Time Two Years Ago:
strawberry shortcake cupcakes

This Time Three Years Ago:
chocolate chip cookie brownie bars


Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your nachos,

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!



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