Sharmaji’s Lahori Chicken
This fantastic Lahori chicken recipe from Chet Sharma cleverly uses hung yoghurt and spices to marinate the chicken before barbecuing it for a delicious charred finish. The whey collected from hanging the yoghurt is used in a delicious spiced cashew sauce. The three spice blends made for this recipe give you more than you need but will keep indefinitely in air-tight containers.
Chet Sharma says 'Inspired by my grandfather’s stories about pre-partition Lahore and the innumerable kebab vendors of his youth, this is our homage to him – my grandmothers’ have a whole restaurant named after them, so I’m happy we managed to get at least one dish inspired by him on the menu.'
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Hung yoghurt and yoghurt whey
Lahori chicken first marinade
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, (150g each)
- 2 tbsp of garlic paste
- 3 tbsp of ginger paste
- 3 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
Lahori chicken second marinade
- 30g of garam masala
- 10g of garlic paste
- 20g of ginger paste
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 30g of mustard oil
- 250g of live cultured yoghurt, (the hung yoghurt from step one)
- 50g of whipping cream
Sigree garam masala
- 2.5g of green cardamom pods
- 1.5g of black cardamom pods
- 2.5g of cloves
- 3.5g of cinnamon
- 1g of cinnamon, /cassia leaves
- 2.5g of mace
- 2.5g of rose petals
- 1g of shahi jeera
- 9.5g of cumin seeds
- 5g of black peppercorns
- 2.5g of ground ginger
- 0.5g of nutmeg
- 0.5g of pathar phool, (stone flower)
- 5g of coriander seeds
- 2g of fennel seeds
White chaat masala
- 2.5g of cumin seeds
- 2.5g of black peppercorns
- 2.5g of black salt
- 1.5g of dried mint
- 1g of fenugreek leaves, (dried)
- 0.25g of citric acid
- 0.5g of cardamom seeds
- 0.25g of cloves
- 0.25g of mace
- 0.25g of cinnamon
- 0.25g of ajwain seeds
- 0.5g of asafoetida
- 7g of dried mango powder
- 2.5g of salt
- 1.5g of ground ginger
- 1g of Kashmiri chilli powder
Sharmaji's kebab masala
- 5g of fenugreek leaves, (dried) lightly toasted
- 4.5g White chaat masala
- 1g of amchur powder
- 1g of yellow chilli powder
- 1g Sigree garam masala
- 1g of black salt
- 0.5g of dried mint
Cashew and yoghurt whey sauce
- 300g of yoghurt whey
- 150g of whipping cream
- 30g of cashew nuts, roast until light golden
- 1g of cardamom pod, crushed
- 20g of fresh ginger, grated into a paste
- 2g of fenugreek leaves, (dried) lightly toasted
- 1 tsp of white chaat masala
- 1/4 tsp green chillies, finely diced
- 1/4 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp coriander stem, finely chopped
- 100g of salted butter
Equipment
- Blender
Method
Begin the day before. Place a few layers of kitchen roll in a sieve, pour in your yoghurt and place over a bowl. Hang the yoghurt in the fridge overnight. The hung yoghurt will then be used for the marinade and the whey in the sauce
Next marinate the chicken. Make the first marinade by mixing together all of the ingredients then rub this into the chicken, making sure it is evenly coated. Allow to marinate at room temperature for ten minutes, while you make the second marinade
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, (150g each)
- 2 tbsp of garlic paste
- 3 tbsp of ginger paste
- 3 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
Mix all of the ingredients together for the second marinade and rub onto the chicken, coating it evenly again. Leave this to marinate in the refrigerator for up to four hours
- 30g of garam masala
- 10g of garlic paste
- 20g of ginger paste
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 30g of mustard oil
- 250g of live cultured yoghurt, (the hung yoghurt from step one)
- 50g of whipping cream
To make the sigree garam masala, lightly toast all of the spices in a large pan over a low heat. Leave to cool completely then grind to a powder in a spice grinder. Store in a labelled airtight container
- 2.5g of green cardamom pods
- 1.5g of black cardamom pods
- 2.5g of cloves
- 3.5g of cinnamon
- 1g of cinnamon, /cassia leaves
- 2.5g of mace
- 2.5g of rose petals
- 1g of shahi jeera
- 9.5g of cumin seeds
- 5g of black peppercorns
- 2.5g of ground ginger
- 0.5g of nutmeg
- 0.5g of pathar phool, (stone flower)
- 5g of coriander seeds
- 2g of fennel seeds
To make the white chaat masala, blend all the spices together in a spice grinder and store in a labelled airtight container
- 2.5g of cumin seeds
- 2.5g of black peppercorns
- 2.5g of black salt
- 1.5g of dried mint
- 1g of fenugreek leaves, (dried)
- 0.25g of citric acid
- 0.5g of cardamom seeds
- 0.25g of cloves
- 0.25g of mace
- 0.25g of cinnamon
- 0.25g of ajwain seeds
- 0.5g of asafoetida
- 7g of dried mango powder
- 2.5g of salt
- 1.5g of ground ginger
- 1g of Kashmiri chilli powder
To make Sharmaji's kebab masala, grind the fenugreek, mint and black salt into a coarse powder, then mix through the remaining spices and store in an airtight container
- 5g of fenugreek leaves, (dried) lightly toasted
- 4.5g White chaat masala
- 1g of amchur powder
- 1g of yellow chilli powder
- 1g Sigree garam masala
- 1g of black salt
- 0.5g of dried mint
To make the sauce, bring the yoghurt whey, cream, cashew nuts, cardamom, and ginger to a rapid boil. Cook until the cashew nuts are soft enough to mash – this should take around five minutes on a high enough heat
- 300g of yoghurt whey
- 150g of whipping cream
- 30g of cashew nuts, roast until light golden
- 2g of fenugreek leaves, (dried) lightly toasted
- 1g of cardamom pod, crushed
- 20g of fresh ginger, grated into a paste
Remove the cardamom pods and add the sauce with cashews to a blender. Blend for five minutes at the highest speed. Adjust the texture to the consistency of double cream using hot water, if needed. Taste and season with salt
- salt to taste
The chicken is best cooked on a barbecue, so light the coals in good time, and once they're at temperature, skewer the chicken and place on the barbecue with the skin-side of the chicken facing up. Cook this for 5–7 minutes, or until the marinade has charred to an uneven, deep brown colour. Turn the chicken over and baste with a little ghee, or melted butter. Cook for a further 5–7 minutes
Test that the chicken is cooked by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, this should read at least 70ºC to confirm it is cooked through. Remove from the heat, baste again with ghee or butter, and leave to rest for a few minutes before carving
Heat the sauce up to at least 90˚C and add the chopped ginger, coriander stem, green chilli and chaat masala. Heat the butter in a separate pan until melted and liquid, but don't let the milk solids start to colour
- 100g of salted butter
- 1 tsp chaat masala
Once rested, carve the chicken breasts into 3 or 4 slices and place onto warm plates. Pour over the sauce, followed by the butter, and finish with a generous dusting of Sharmaji’s kebab masala
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