"Have you ever used your broiler?" I asked my co-worker Jessica yesterday afternoon. "Sure," she replied. "All the time." I asked her what she broils. "Chicken and stuff." I asked her how long she cooks the chicken. She couldn't remember.
I was asking because at home I had some chicken marinating in my refrigerator and the recipe, which comes from the Best-Ever Curry Cookbook by Mridula Baljekar, calls for the chicken to be broiled. Now, the broiler drawer at the bottom of my stove was a complete mystery to me. Never in my life have I used it, to cook anyway. I use it to store my cast iron grill pan. I'm not sure why, but broiling seems wierdly complicated. How far from the heat do I put the meat? Do I need to preheat it? Questions swirled in my head.
Once I got home, I called my mom to see if she could be of any help or had any tips. "Why are you calling?" she asked me. "Can't I just call my mom and say hi?" I replied. "You can, it's just that you never do." I reminded her that we spoke the day before. And the day before that. "That's because I called you." "Okay, fine," I admitted. "I have a question." I asked her about her broiling experience. Alas, it turned out that she didn't use her broiler either. Like mother, like son.
Next I turned to Annie. "Have you ever used your broiler?" I asked her. She told me she does. "What do you broil?" She told me she uses it for tuna melts and something she calls "crabbies" which are english muffins topped with, I believe, some sort of crab salad. Like my mother, she was of no help at all. I decided I would just figure it out myself and hope for the best.
While I was making my chicken skewers my mom called me back and told me that she had consulted an old cooking encyclopedia her mother had given her, probably in 1958. She said the meat should be any closer than 4 inches from the heat source. "So I'm supposed to get down there with a tape measure and measure it?" I asked. "I don't think so." She went on to say that this little cooking encyclopedia was full of helpful hints and good recipes. "There's a recipe in here for home-made chicken stock made with chicken feet," she told me. "Okay, I have to go," I told her, cutting her off before she could any further chicken foot related detail.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound skinless chicken breast fillets, cubed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plain yogurt
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
lime wedges
METHOD
In a large bowl, mix the chicken, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric, salt, yogurt, lemon juice and cilantro. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Thread the chicken onto wooden skewers and place on a baking sheet covered in foil.
Place the chicken under a broiler and cook 8 to 10 minutes. Turn each skewer, spoon a little more of the yogurt marinade over the chicken and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes.
How cool looking is that? I love the reflection of the blue flames in the tin foil.
Remove the chicken from the broiler and serve scattered with cilantro and accompanied with lime wedges.
So in the end I think I love the broiler. I love that you can just stick food in a drawer, close it and a few minutes later it comes out cooked. I should note, however, that since this was my first time using the broiler, I over-cooked the chicken by about 2 minutes. I think I was preoccupied with trying to get those cool looking charred edges on the chicken and in the end some of the pieces wound up just slightly dry. Just slightly. Next time I'll know. The cooking time I have noted in the recipe is how long I would broil them next time, although keep in mind that every stove is different, so you should just keep an eye on it.
As far as the chicken's flavor goes, it was really nice. Spiced by not firey. Unlike various kormas, vindaloos and what-have-yous, this is not a saucy Indian dish. It is traditionally served with slices of onion and lime wedges. I didn't bother with the onion, but the lime works well with the cilantro. I served the chicken on a bed of basmati rice and accompanied by some Curried Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Tomatoes.
Serves 4 to 6
This is something I would love to try! Maybe for a Bollywood themed cocktail party, perhaps?
Posted by: Rorie | March 20, 2006 at 04:13 PM
Thought you might smile... I made this today and I put in skewers and a fwe minutes later I notice the stuff I'm cooking on the stove top is spewing not blue flames but orange flames. So I check the broiler and my skeweres caught fire I used metal skewers but they had wooden handles. D'oh!!! Once the fire was out (which luckily didnt reach the chicken by then) the chicken sheesh was PHENOMENAL. Very yummy so I do want to make it again. I was hoping you could provide me two peices of advice:
1. How to broil without the smoke alarm going nuts. I did open windows..
2. What kind of skewer is best.
Thanks!! And keep up the great recipes.
Posted by: Aisha | March 21, 2006 at 05:44 PM
Also would you mind if I used the image of your final product on my blog? I dont mind if you object. Thanks.
Posted by: Aisha | March 21, 2006 at 06:29 PM
Sorry for comment spamming you, but I uploaded your picture, but let me know if you mind and I'll remove it. Thanks.
Posted by: Aisha | March 21, 2006 at 07:17 PM
I don't mind at all if you use the picture. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe but I feel terrible that your skewers caught fire. At least you put the fire out and got to enjoy the chicken.
As far as your questions go, I know that it is recommended to soak wooden skewers if they are going to be used on the grill, but since I was using the broiler and they weren't going to be that close to the flame I didn't think it necessary. But perhaps it is a good idea. The original recipe didn't even call for the chicken to be skewered but I thought it would make them easier to flip.
As far as the broiler smoking too much, I'm not really sure. When I broiled my chicken it wasn't smokey. What kind of stove do you have - gas or electric? Mine is gas. I wonder if maybe the broiler pan is too close to the heat source, which may account for the fire as well. I don't have much experience with broilers so I hope this is helpful.
Posted by: Grant | March 22, 2006 at 12:35 AM
Hey Grant,
Good lookin' chicken.. You could also garnish with lemon and sauteed/grilled onions.. the flavors work well together.
Posted by: Dbdtron | March 23, 2006 at 08:48 AM
Also, my mom and I (and my wife, and my mother-in-law) are big fans of Julie Sahni's books.. everything we've attempted comes out aces.
Classic Indian Cooking
ISBN: 0688037216
Savoring India
ISBN: 0737020504
Posted by: dbdtron | March 23, 2006 at 08:54 AM
Hi there, just so you know I made it again and the smoke alarm did not go off, I think it was the fact that I was cooking five different dishes simultaneously that must have done it. This time I added minced onions to the yogurt masala and I really liked that kick. I also sauteed onions as well and added it to the rice and that worked well too.
Posted by: Aisha | April 02, 2006 at 12:10 PM
Dbdtron - I'm going to have to check out Julie Sahni's cookbooks. Thanks for the recommendation.
Aisha - I'm glad you tried the recipe again. The addition of the onion sounds like a good idea. I was thinking of maybe adding minced pepper of some sort, the next time I do it.
Posted by: Grant | April 10, 2006 at 10:33 AM
I made this, as well as the curried cauliflower, for a friend recovering from surgery (and of course made a double batch so I could have some).
Rave reviews across the board. Thanks so much! Your blog is fantastic! Very helpful and stylish.
Posted by: Beth | April 11, 2006 at 07:19 AM
Beth - Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the blog and the recipes. Your friend is lucky to have you. What a nice meal to have after eating all that bland hospital food.
Posted by: Grant | April 26, 2006 at 06:14 PM
What temperature did you use?
Posted by: Adriel296 | June 05, 2010 at 11:08 AM