Coconut Milk Chicken Tikka Wraps (vegetarian substitutions provided)

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This time a year ago, my husband and I were on vacation in Thailand.  It has been brutally cold for the past few weeks--we even had a snow day from work a few days ago--and naturally we have been reminiscing about the warm weather days in Thailand.

As I have noted elsewhere in this blog, our trip to Thailand (specifically a cooking class we took) really inspired my desire to cook from-scratch and healthy food.  So, with Thailand already on my mind, this week I made a dish inspired by Thai flavors.

The recipe for the chicken in this dish is actually the recipe used to make the Thai dish "chicken satay."  The ingredients, however, are all easily found in an Indian kitchen.  It is really fascinating how much Thai cooking and Indian cooking have in common--and this can be attributed to the old spice routes that connected Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent to the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe.

The main "Thai inspiration" in this recipe comes from the use of coconut milk instead of yogurt.  Coconut milk is used to make almost all Thai curries; but it is also a very popular ingredient in South Indian cooking as well.  Since this recipe is a semi-fusion recipe, there is not a traditional name for it; therefore, I have decided to call it coconut milk chicken tikka!  The name alone makes me hungry!

First, you will need to make the marinade for the chicken.  Combine the coconut milk, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, salt, and sugar.

Next, dice the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the marinade.  Stir to coat and combine.  Once combined, cover and keep the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Note for VEGETARIANS: You can substitute paneer or tofu (depending on how healthy you want to be) for the chicken.  Paneer and tofu will not absorb the marinade the same way the chicken will, so reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of the marinade in a separate container and use it as a sauce in the wrap. This will give you more of the flavor of the marinade!

30 minutes prior to cooking the chicken, soak a few bamboo skewers in water so that they do not burn in the oven.  As a note, you absolutely do not need to use bamboo skewers; however, I find that it is easier to turn the chicken halfway through cooking if the chicken is on a skewer.  

Once the skewers are soaked, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Take the chicken out of the fridge, and thread the chicken pieces through the bamboo skewers; if you are not using skewers, lightly oil the foil and place the chicken pieces directly onto it.

Once the oven has preheated, place the cookie sheet in the oven for a total of 15-20 minutes.  Turn the chicken pieces over halfway through (roughly 8 to 10 minutes in) and continue cooking.  Watch the chicken closely to make sure you do not overcook the chicken; you don't want it to be undercooked, but you also don't want it to turn out too dry!

Meanwhile, chop the baby spinach.  You could also use lettuce, but spinach is full of many more nutrients--like iron!

Once the chicken is done, place a few pieces in a whole wheat tortilla.

Next, top the chicken with kakdi and gaajar raita (carrot and cucumber yogurt sauce), spinach, and spicy pickled cucumbers.  When adding the pickled cucumbers, try to avoid adding any of the pickling liquid--pick out the cucumbers, shallots, chilies, and cilantro and add them by themselves.

Roll the tortilla closed, cut in half, and serve!  My husband and I ate ours for lunch during our snow day, while looking at our photos from Thailand ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breast
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5-6 bamboo skewers (optional)
• 3 handfuls baby spinach
• 4 whole-wheat tortillas
• kakdi and gaajar raita (cucumber and carrot yogurt sauce) (optional)
• spicy pickled cucumber dipping sauce (optional)

Recipe (Serves 4):

1. Combine coconut milk, garam masala, turmeric, cumin powder, sugar, and salt.
2. Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the marinade.  Stir to coat.
3. Cover and refrigerate chicken for at least two hours, up to overnight.
4. Thirty minutes prior to cooking the chicken, soak the bamboo skewers in water (optional).  
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
6. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Thread the chicken pieces through the bamboo skewers, and place the skewers on the cookie sheet.  If you are not using skewers, lightly oil the foil and place the chicken pieces directly onto the foil.
7. Place the cookie sheet in the oven for a total of 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.  Halfway through (roughly 8 to 10 minutes in), turn the chicken pieces over, and place the cookie sheet back in the oven to continue cooking.
8. While the chicken is in the oven, chop the spinach.
9. Once the chicken is cooked, place a few pieces onto the tortilla.  Top with spinach, kakdi and gaajar raita, and/or picked cucumbers.
10. Roll the tortilla to create a wrap.  Cut the wrap in half and serve!

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