Last summer while spending a few days on the Northern California Coast I had the most delicious sandwich in the little village of Duncan Mills. Tandoori Chicken Sandwich with Mango Chutney popped out from the menu at first glance. I knew it was destined to be my lunch that day. The rich and flavorful spices of the tandoori chicken mingled with the sweet mango chutney, the smooth creaminess from the aioli brought the sandwich to perfection. From the first bite I was in heaven.
Ever since that day I have been dreaming about that sandwich and when I could make the 500 mile trip to eat it again. Last fall when Kimi posted a recipe for DIY Mango Chutney I knew my sandwich was within reach. I excitedly rummaged through my cupboards and refrigerator and prepared recreate the sandwich.
This has become one of my signature sandwiches over last several months. The first time around a lot of prepping is involved. I have found that if make extra aioli, chutney and spice rub to keep on hand then this sandwich takes less than 20 minutes of active cooking to make.
Don’t be surprised if your tandoori chicken is not bright red like the dishes you see in restaurants. The bright red generally comes from food dye which I choose to avoid.
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 recipe tandoori spice rub
- ½ cup of yogurt or milk kefir
- 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 2 TBS coconut oil
- 1 recipe mango chutney
- 1 recipe aioli (Below)
- 8 slices of bread (a hearty rustic bread is best)
- Tandoori Spice Rub
- 1 tsp gram masala
- 1 tsp ground cayenne
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½;fenugreek seeds, crushed
- 1 tsp unrefined salt
- Aioli
- 2 eggs (pastured prefered)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup olive oil
- Thinly slice the chicken about a ¼ of an inch thick.This is easiest to do when the chicken is still slightly frozen. Place the chicken in a shallow glass dish.
- Mix the yogurt, crushed garlic and chopped ginger and tandoori spice rub. Pour the marinade over the chicken, be sure that it is evenly covering the chicken. Place in the refrigerator to marinade for 30 minutes to 4 hours. (On a rushed day I have skipped the marinading step. Instead I have been sure that the chicken in throughly covered in the "marinade" and immediately cooked it.)
- In a cast iron skillet heat the two tablespoons of coconut oil, over medium heat.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and gently add to the skillet. (You want to avoid the hot oil popping and burning you.) Cook until the first side is lightly brown, then flip over. This should take no one than 5 minutes because the chicken is thinly sliced. If your skillet is small you may need to do this in batches.
- The chicken is done once no pink can be seen when cutting the thickest piece of meat. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Assembling The Sandwich:Toast the bread. Spread desired amount of aioli and mango chutney on each piece of toast. Place the chicken evenly divided on half the toast. Add a leaf of lettuce. Top with the remaining slices of toast. Cut the sandwich in half and plate to serve. If desired add a small spoonful of mango chutney to each plate to dip the sandwich in.
Katie Stanley is a dorm “mama” to 12 amazing girls ages 8 to 18 at a home and school for the Deaf in Baja California, Mexico. She and her “hijas” can be frequently found in the kitchen, the garden or making friends with their new chickens. She loves to read, hike the hills near her home and spend time with her girls. In her spare time Katie blogs at Nourishing Simplicity about nourishing foods, herbal remedies, simple living, the Deaf, raising her girls and encouraging other women in their walk with Christ.
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Really? Tandoori chicken generally has red dye? Is anything free from artificial colors and other chemical additives?! A while back there was a post and some comments here about how we tend to find more nourishing food at ethnic restaurants. It never occurred to me that the chicken could be dyed. I figured they just had some super-duper spices that made it such a deep red color!
Tara,
I looked it up, and it is very common to have red dye in tandoori chicken. So sad! We don’t generally get it because it has dairy in it, anyways, but it is such a lovely way to cook chicken it is too bad it has the dye.
As a side note, I think I should note that while we love eating “ethnic” food out (especially Indian, Thai, and such), I always keep in mind that there are probably numerous compromise ingredients in it, whether it is the oil they use, the type of meat, etc. However, we have found some lovely restaurants that serve lamb and grassfed beef for a good price, so I am thankful for that.
Kimi, I can’t open the Mango Chutney. Is there another location for your recipe as well?
Barb
For some reason the link in the recipe is broken. If you look the second paragraph the link is there as well.
Thanks for the Tandoori Chicken Sandwich with Mango Chutney recipe. We were served red dyed Tandoori chicken in England quite a few years ago and just could not eat it because of the color.
Your welcome! I hope you like it Lenore!