
I always order these bad boys when I go to Mexican restaurants. I love making them fresh at home too but this time I thought I’d spice them up-literally, by changing up the filling. This is the first time I’d ever made chicken tikka masala in this way. I was pretty excited to be making this Brit favourite and fusing it with my personal Mexican favourite and I was really pleased with the result! The richness and heat of the tikka masala worked really well with the the classic fajita peppers and onions. I also replaced sour cream with a cool mint yoghurt sauce which complimented the fajitas nicely. For all the vegetarians out there, you can swap out the chicken for paneer and use the same recipe to make paneer tikka masala fajitas. Ahh yumness 🙂 Check it out, let me know what you think:
Serves 4
What we need:
For marinade:
4 boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into thin strips
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp tandoori powder
1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika powder
Pinch of citric acid (Or a squeeze of lemon juice)
Handful of fresh coriander
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp olive oil
For Masala:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
2″ ginger
1 green chili (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika powder
Handful coriander
2 tomatos
2 tbsp tomato puree
Handful cashews
2 tbsp yoghurt
Also:
1 green pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
8 tortillas
Mint Sauce:
1 cup Greek yoghurt
1/4 fresh mint leaves
Salt to taste
How we do:
- In a bowl, add the chicken, oil, milk and all of the dry masalas together. Add the coriander and mix well. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to maximum temperature. Once hot, cook the chicken for 5 minutes. Then the chicken over and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- In a food processor, grind together the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander.
- Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and peppercorns.
- Once they begin to sizzle, add the grinded paste and cook until golden brown, stirring continuously.
- Add in the dry spices and 2 tbsp tomato puree and mix.
- Grind together the tomatoes and cashews. Add this paste to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- When the oil begins to separate from the masala, add the chicken and mix. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover with lid for 5 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp yoghurt and reduce the heat. Cook for a further 5 minutes and turn off the heat. Cover with lid.
- Now heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan. Add the peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes. Now add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper.
- To prepare the mint sauce, grind or finely chop the mint. Mix with the yogurt and add a pinch of salt to taste.
- To assemble the fajitas, heat a tortilla on a non stick pan. Once warm, remove from heat and place the chicken tikka masala on the middle of it. Now add some peppers and onions and finish with some yoghurt sauce. Fold the tortilla over to form a fajita. Repeat this process for each of the tortillas.
- Balle Balle! That’s it, you’re done. Enjoy.