Chettinad Chicken Bites with Red Pepper Salsa

Chettinad Chicken Bites with Red Pepper Salsa

I like to serve these ones up as an appetiser - they taste even better al-fresco on a balmy summer's evening. Chettinad is a region in the South of India, well known for its spicy flavours, and these tangy little chicken bites are a good example of their wonderful use of aromatic spices – and our Madras Paste certainly adds a bit of a kick to them!

Serves: 4 people
Preparation time: 2 hrs 15 mins
Cooking Time: 12 mins
Difficulty: Moderate

Spiciness

If you like this recipe try these

Balti Crab Cakes

Indian Spiced Chicken (Murgh Tikka Makhani)

This recipe features

Ingredients

For the Chettinad Chicken Bites:

550g skinless chicken breasts, cut into mini fillets
1 tbsp low fat thick yogurt
¾ tbsp Patak's Madras Curry Paste

For the Red Pepper Salsa:

½ tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
10 curry leaves, fresh or frozen (optional)
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
¼ tsp mustard seeds
75g red pepper, sliced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced
50g red onion, sliced
juice of half a lemon
fresh mint, to garnish
salt, to taste

Methods

In a bowl marinate the chicken with the Patak’s Madras Curry Paste and yogurt. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight if possible.
Remove the chicken from the marinade. In a pan spray some oil and cook the marinated chicken on a medium flame for 7 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent the chicken from burning. Alternatively cook the chicken on a hot griddle or barbecue.
Remove from the pan and wipe clean. Spray with some more oil to stir-fry the rest of the ingredients.
First add the mustard seeds, once they start popping add the red onions and the red pepper.
After 1 minute add the desiccated coconut, black pepper, ginger and curry leaves (if using). Sprinkle in some water if the mixture starts to stick.
Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Check the seasoning and add salt if required.
Squeeze in the lemon juice before removing from the heat and garnishing with some fresh chopped mint.
Divide the chicken between serving plates and spoon on some of the salsa.
Delicious served with Patak's Raita.