Today's recipe was inspired by an Indian buffet that my family and I went to yesterday for lunch. They had reshmi kebabs in their buffet and fortunately for me, my 4 year old gobbled it up. I was able to get him to eat lunch without begging him to eat. The stars, the sun, and moon must have been aligned right because he even ate salad with it! For those of you who don't know what reshmi kebab is, it is a milder, tender kebab than tandoori chicken tikka kebab. Because of the special marinade, the kebab is so soft and tender that the name literally means silky.
I used chicken but this recipe also works great with lamb, steak or shrimp. The following is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 8 blanched almonds
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 inch of ginger root, peeled
- 1 cup of cilantro
- 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 pounds of chicken breast, cubed
Add first 4 ingredients (if using jalapeno, add that as well) into a food processor and blend until smooth. Empty into a non-reactive bowl. Add lemon juice and incorporate. Add cream, salt and incorporate. Add chicken and mix until chicken is covered with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap. For best results, marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
Preheat a grill pan or your grill on high heat. Lightly grease and place chicken on top. Cook chicken until cooked through.
***Note: I didn't use skewers but placed the chicken directly on a grill pan. I sprayed the grill pan with Pam and preheated the grill pan on high heat. I covered the pan and cooked the chicken for 3 - 5 minutes on each side. Don't overcook! It doesn't take long to cook the chicken so be careful not to overcook otherwise your chicken will be dry.
Serve with lemon wedges and naan.
