Tandoori-ish chicken with lime-pickled cucumber

• chicken thighs↗4 large or 8 small

  skin-on and bone-in

• natural yogurt↗700ml full-fat ml
• garlic cloves↗4 large

  grated

• ginger↗1 thumb-sized piece of

  peeled and grated

• tomato purée↗1 heaped tbsp
• cumin↗2 tsp ground tsp
• coriander2 tsp ground tsp
• turmeric↗2 tsp ground tsp
• chilli powder↗1 tsp hot tsp

  hot

• sweet smoked paprika↗1½ tsp tsp
• lemon↗1

  juiced

• pilau rice

  to serve

• limes↗3

  juiced

• sugar↗1 tsp tsp
• red chilli↗1

  finely chopped

• cucumber↗1 large

  halved, seeds removed and cut into half moons

• red onion↗½ small

  finely chopped

• Greek yogurt↗300ml
• ground cumin↗½ tsp
• coriander1 small bunch of
• mint↗1 small bunch of
• sugar↗pinch of

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Slash the chicken with a sharp knife. Mix the yogurt, garlic, ginger, tomato purée, spices, lemon juice and 1½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken, turn to coat, then cover and chill in the fridge overnight.

2. 2

   For the pickle, mix together the lime juice, sugar, chilli and 1 tsp salt, then toss with the cucumber and red onion. Chill until ready to use or up to 1 hr.

3. 3

   Blitz the yogurt, cumin and herbs with a pinch of salt until smooth. Chill until needed.

4. 4

   Shake off the excess marinade and put the chicken on a baking tray, reserving the marinade. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then once at temperature, change the setting and heat the grill to high. Grill the chicken, skin-side-up, for 10-15 mins or until beginning to blacken a little. Change the setting back to an oven heat of 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Transfer the chicken to a roasting tin, then brush with the reserved marinade and cook for 20 mins. Serve with the cucumber, yogurt, cucumber pickle and pilau rice.