simple dinner: tandoori chicken wraps
The word wrap always makes me laugh. Such a 00s throwback: I'm taken back to my high school years, when a Friday treat was to wander downtown into the aptly named "World Wraps" which did indeed offer wraps inspired by the world, before going on to the movies or going back to the gym to see friends in a play. And don't get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with some peanut sauced smothered Thai chicken, or the perennial teenage favorite of dressing-drenched caesar salad, all taken to go in a nice neat tortilla-wrapped package.
But today, a good old wrap is not something you see often, or at least not in the bougiest bits of Brooklyn. Which is a shame, because the basic concept of bread + fillings + sauce can take you a long way.
And so weekday dinners have taken a nostalgic turn, though one now paired with a touch more heat and maybe a little less dressing.
Procure, for the chicken:
- Chicken breasts or tenders
- Tandoori masala mix, ideally Shan (easier to find than you think! An Indian grocery store is ideal, but Amazon works too)
- Lemon
- Plain yogurt, any fat level
- Garlic
Procure, to put it together:
- Some form of flatbread, naan or even pita (Trader Joes has a great thin flatbread that comes in long, flat sheets that works well; as you can see here, we've played around with whole wheat pita as well)
- More of whatever yogurt you use for the chicken
- Cucumber
- Red onion or green onion
- Mint
- Spices to taste: salt, sugar, cumin powder, chili powder
- Lime
Do:
A few hours or a day in advance, clean your chicken however you like to clean your chicken (I'll dodge the "to wash or to not to wash" controversy here). Chop into cubes roughly 1.5" across.
Chop garlic, then prep your marinade: mix yogurt, a few spoons of the tandoori powder, and the juice of a few lemons. Add chicken and mix to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.
When ready to prepare the meal: preheat a grill, the oven to 350, or the broiler (the broiler is ideal for this!). Place chicken cubes on trays, without taking any excess marinade. Grill/bake/broil until chicken is cooked through and ideally a little blackened. You'll likely want to flip them half-way through.
While cooking the chicken, make raita light: take more of that yogurt you used for the marinade and water it down if it's too thick. Add sugar, salt, cumin powder, and chili powder to taste. You can go fairly light on the cumin and chili given how much flavor the chicken will have. Add diced cucumber (or any other vegetables that strike your fancy - tomato would be great here, and I know someone who does raw zucchini) and green onion if using.
Once the chicken is done: heat up flatbread if you're using it (note that this gets tricky - depending on the bread texture, it may snap and break as you try to roll later - don't stress this. If you think it's likely, just go for open faced). Add chicken and squeeze lime over it. Top with raita, red onion, and with mint leaves.
