1 cup yoghurt (plain, white, unflavoured)
2 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp crushed garlic
2 small green chillies
Handful of mint leaves, another handful of cilantro/coriander leaves
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
White pepper (about 8 peppercorns, ground)
Lemon juice
2 lbs chicken
Cut the stems off the chillies, then slice them into thin rings. Along with the ginger and garlic, grind to a thick paste in a blender or mortar/pestle. In a large bowl mix this paste into the yoghurt. Pull the mint and coriander leaves off the stems, chop them roughly and then grind them to a paste as well. (For convenience, there are a lot of Indian stores that sell pre-made ginger/garlic pastes or coriander/mint pastes as these are both staple ingredients in a lot of north Indian dishes.)
Mix the mint/coriander paste into the yoghurt mixture, which should now be incredibly aromatic and a bright green colour. Add in the remaining dry spices - ground coriander seed, cumin powder, turmeric and white pepper, salt, then two tablespoons of lemon juice and mix through until it's a creamy, dark green paste.
If using chicken breast - cut into pieces roughly 4-5 cm cubed, and poke a few holes in each piece with a fork or skewer for the marinade. If using thighs/leg pieces, just poke a few holes around for the marinade to better flavour the chicken. Mix the chicken pieces into the marinade, make sure the meat's covered well and then leave it to refrigerate overnight (or if keeping outside, 2-3 hours in the marinade should be fine).
Following the marination - stick the chicken onto skewers, then grill. (If grills aren't available I've also sauteed the pieces on a stove and they also come out quite nicely.) Serve with Spatlese.
