My idea of comfort food; something that’s not only a comfort to eat but also a comfort to cook! Summer evenings, picnics, pool parties, movie nights…they seem incomplete without the crispy, gooey, melting comfort of good old grilled cheese.But my spice loving South Asian palate doesn’t just want a grilled cheese sandwich, it wants a grilled cheese with heat. When the grill is already on, what can be better than adding some spicy, juicy, chargrilled chicken tikkas to the sandwich ?
This is how my fusion food Chicken Tikka Grilled Cheese was born.

Imagine biting into the crispy grilled bread, sinking your teeth into the warm, melting cheese and then suddenly meeting the heart of heat itself…the spicy, smokey tikka bites. I love fusion food for this very reason, it brings the best of both worlds together.

For a vegetarian version, you can replace chicken with paneer tikka using the same marinade.

For Chicken Tikka:

  • 1 chicken breast fillet, cut into bite size cubes
  • 3 tablespoons yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon sunflower or olive oil

This Is What You Do:

For chicken tikka cheese grilled sandwich first you need to prepare chicken tikka.
Mix all the ingredients, except chicken cubes, in an electric blender till they form a paste. Marinate chicken cubes in tikka masala paste for 1o minutes. Heat a grill or skillet on medium heat, add chicken cubes, let them sear a little bit, turn down the heat to low and cover the grill/skillet for 5-6 minutes so that the chicken is done from inside and stays moist. Keep them warm.

For Grilled Cheese:

  • 4 slices of wheat or plain bread
  • 4 cheddar cheese slices
  • 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 green chilli pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter

This Is What You Do:

For chicken tikka and grilled cheese sandwich, first heat a clean grill, skillet or heavy frying pan on medium heat. Brush both sides of the bread slices lightly with oil. Place the bread on the grill or pan when one side is grilled, take them off the grill.On the grilled side layer sliced tomatoes,cucumbers,onions and chicken tikka pieces, green chillies and top with two cheese slices. Place the second bread slice over it, grilled side inwards. On both the slices the ungrilled sides would be outwards. Put them back on the grill, check to see if bread is brown after no more than a minute and a half. Toast till golden crisp, flip the sandwich and repeat. The second side gets done more quickly. Take it off the grill, cut into halves, with melted cheese oozing out. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

4 Replies to “Chicken Tikka Grilled Cheese, Fusion Food”

  1. Oh this is what we call a spiralling invasion of deliciousness on the tastebuds. I can’t even begin to imagine and here the mouth is gushing with saliva. Oh dear this is pure delight. One bite and you surely do not know if you can wait to put down the piece in your hand and finish the bit in your mouth or you want a continuous flow of this yumminess without pausing to breathe.

    Reply

    1. Haha! 🙂 Dearest Piyali, you know how much I love your descriptive comments and it’s such a delight to see you stop by my blog! 🙂 A million thanks and hugs! xx

      Reply

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