STILL NEW YORK-HUNGRY

22. Priya's Chicken Tandoori Burger

For the first book in what turned from the crooked journey of two mental people back to life into a full-blown Family Saga and Epic Love cross-borders and across an Ocean, I cooked up a Burger restaurant I wish existed (exists!) in Munich (For my perpetually geography-challenged WDC-peeps: that's in Germany.)

Like my FMC, Laura, I've lived & studied there for nearly a decade (and regularly go back visiting family there)... and I would've joined waiting stuff without further thinking.

I named the fictional joint Meat Me (after a real restaurant around the corner from where I live now).

Anyway, the owner of my Meat Me, – a rustic, burly Bavarian called Benjamin "Benni" Stadler – has a very unique concept, not only concerning making cross-border Burgers.

His staff is quite international, too, the special thing being that all are from countries/regions/ethnicities which live – or have lived – in conflict / war! This shall show that the whole world – no matter what – can come together & feast in peace.

And one "pair" in this multinational staff are waitresses Shirin from Pakistan and, the name-giver of the recipe, Priya from India.

Since they're all tight-knit, wanting to make "their" Meat Me a success, they often meet / gather beyond work as well. And then the culinary "experimenting" starts... and something like this may come out.

You need to bring a little time, though. Yeah, I know.

Actually making the burgers goes rather fast, but letting the meat marinate takes all the time.

What're you in for, you ask?

An umami bomb consisting of juicy chicken, honey-caramelized red onion, Dijon-mayonnise, cheddar, and, of course, a nice load of Tandoori.

You're drooling, too?

Then off to the kitchen before you short-circuit your keyboards, peeps!




Note: since the recipe is for six burgers, but I'm alone, I've roughly 1/3 the ingredients. Original measures in parenthesis!

Serves: 2 (6) burgers

Prep Time: 1.5 hrs PLUS, as above-mentioned, at least 20 hrs for marinating the meat. Do that the day before.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy




WE NEED


BURGER

1 (6) chicken escalope These are thin slices of chicken weighing about 4-5 oz.. Since I didn't get them fresh from the butcher, I used a 7 oz. chicken breast, instead. That was enough for my two burgers.

1 (2) red onion(s)
1.5 (3) tbsp Olive Oil Extra vergine, Deli-quality.
1/2 (1) tbsp honey

2 (6) tbsp hand-made Dijon-Mayonnaise Since I've already f-ed up my first try – "4. Pumpkin Burger 2 in 1 (Hi-Carb)"  – but wanted to take on the challenge once more, I succeeded this time. (The "just-in-case" shop-bought mayonnaise is unused.)

1/2-1 tsp Tandoori powder
1/3 (1) lemon The Juice here.
4 (12+) mini-cornichons
1 (3-4) Romaine-Lettuce-Heart(s) That's about 20 gr / 0.75 oz. salad per burger.

25 gr / 1 oz. (150 gr / 5.3 oz.) grated / crumbled cheddar Used orange one from Ireland, for color. Also, half a slice (= 0.5 oz.) per burger was enough for me.

2 (6) burger buns Like always, I used hand-made rolls from the baker on the corner of my street.




MARINADE

100 gr / 3.5 oz. Greek Yoghurt Normal yoghurt's fine, too, but that one's my fave.
1 garlic clove
1/3 lemon Juice – press it out over a sieve = no cores in the bowl.
1 tsp Tandoori powder. Heaped
salt
pepper




DIJON-MAYONNAISE Here I used the original measures... can't split an egg yolk into thirds

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp mustard Heaped & Dijon. I mean What else?
200 ml / 6.75 US fl.oz. vegetable oil Used Canola.
1. tbsp wine vinegar Used dark Aceto Balsomico... was even yummier.
salt
pepper




WE DO

1. DAY ONE: Prepare the marinade.

Peel + finely chop the garlic. Whisk it together with yoghurt + Tandoori powder and press out the lemon juice onto the mix. Season with salt + pepper.

b) Put the escalopes into a bowl and pour over the marinade. Mix well – all meat must be covered. When you used "bigger" meat – like chicken breast – be sure to cut off any tendons and other stuff you wouldn't want in your burger.





2. BURGER DAY!

A) Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F – I used fan/convection – and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Get the marinated chicken out of the fridge and put it onto the tray and cook for 40-45 minutes. LOOK after them every now and then. Since every oven is different, it can take longer/shorter



B) Make the Mayonnaise a.k.a. My Endgegner!

Fill the vegetable oil in a little jug. Makes it easier to pour. Place the bowl, in which you'll make the mayonnaise on a skid-proof surface, like a plastic chopping board.

Whisk together egg yolk + mustard using a hand whisk. Then – while continuously whisking – pour in the oil with the THINNEST jet you can muster. That's NON-negotiable – or you'll F- 'er up! Season with salt + pepper and, at last, whisk in the vinegar.

This time, instead of an oily vinaigrette it became a creamy delight. Don't worry about it being to yellow – that's normal when you use mustard + canola. It has the texture of Mayo.





C) Peel + chop the onion(s). Heat the olive oil in a pan and gently sweat the onion(s) on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Until they're soft but haven't gained too much color. Toward the end of that time you add the honey and let them caramelize in it. Stir with a wooden spatula, if needed. Keep them warm.



D) Whisk together your Dijon-Mayonnasise with Tandoori powder and press the juice of 1/2 a lemon into the mix and stir it in.



E) Cut the cornichons into thin slices and wash + cut the romaine into stripes. Halve the burger buns / rolls.



F) BURGER BAUEN!

– Spread the Tandoori-Mayonnaise onto all bun / roll halves.

Next comes:

– salad
– honey-onion(s).

Then you cut the chicken into thin slices and put them on top.

It follows:

– cheese
– cornichons &
– bun / roll's top half.





Finito & Guten Hunger!