This exciting chicken tikka dish is served with a pipette full of chilli sauce to impress your guests and let them control how much spice they want. Vineet Bhatia from Rasoi has concocted an innovative take on the classic tikka recipe.
For the rosemary chicken tikka, mix all the ingredients and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice for the first marinade. Add the chicken pieces and set aside for 20 minutes
Add the ginger, chilli, coriander stalks, rosemary, white pepper and some salt and mix well, then add the cream, yoghurt and oil and mix to a smooth paste
Add the chicken to the yoghurt marinade and leave in the fridge for 6 hours
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For the saffron and cardamom dip, dry roast the saffron in a small frying pan over a very low heat. Soak it in 2 tablespoon of hot water for half an hour
Mix together the Greek yoghurt and mayonnaise, then stir in the saffron water. Add 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice, fennel, cardamom, sugar and salt, mix well and pass through a very fine sieve. Store in the fridge
To make the black olive khichdi heat the oil and butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds. As they splutter, add the sliced onion, ginger and green chilli
Sauté till the onion turns light golden. Stir in the rice, pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the stock has been absorbed and the rice is almost done
Position the chicken on the plate, and push the pipette nozzle slightly into it so it stays standing. Arrange the rest of the components around the meat and serve
While Vineet Bhatia has borrowed from European traditions to plate up his food, the manner and matter of his dishes are unmistakably those of India, handled with immense sophistication and personal panache.
