Chicken Tikka Kebabs

I LOVE kebabs. They're easy and fun to fix. I found this amazing kebab recipe on Food Network the other day. Chicken Tikka is one of my favorite Indian recipes - but Rachel Ray makes a little change to it and makes kebabs and pour this wonderful charred tomato chutney sauce over it... The sauce was delicious!! Definitely a flavor booster. Yum, yum!! Instead of using outdoor grill, I used a flat pan to cook the chicken kebabs. They tasted fantastic. But if you want to grill the chicken, that's great, too. Rachel Ray suggests flat bread or naan to serve with the kebabs but I made some rice for it. You can't have Indian food (even though it's not an authentic one...) without rice.....

Chicken Tikka Kebabs
Adapted with slight changes from Rachel Ray's Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 rounded tablespoon mild curry paste
• 1 lemon, juiced
• A handful (3 tablespoons) cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 plum tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce or tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Coarse salt
  
• Rice or flat bread or naan

Directions:

Preheat grill pan or indoor electric grill to high.

Combine yogurt, curry paste, lemon juice, and cilantro in a shallow dish. Add chunks of chicken and coat evenly in yogurt sauce. Lace meat onto skewers. When you are about 10 minutes away from eating, place chicken on hot grill (indoor or outdoor) and cook 5 or 6 minutes on each side, until charred at edges and chicken meat is firm.

Place a small heavy skillet on stovetop over high heat. When pan is very hot, add whole tomatoes. Pan roast the tomatoes until charred on all sides. Place the tomato sauce and charred fresh tomatoes in a food processor.

Return skillet to heat and toast mustard and coriander seeds and crushed red pepper until they pop. Add seeds and flakes to food processor with a few pinches coarse salt. Pulse grind tomato mixture into a chunky chutney and transfer to a small bowl.

Simmer the tomato chutney until warm. Pour the sauce over the kebabs. Serve with rice or flat bread.

Enjoy!!