Chicken Tikka Masala Quesadillas
Thick, saucy tikka masala chicken and melting cheese folded into flour tortillas Mexican-style and toasted crisp, with a cool mint-lime yogurt dip.
Method
Cut the chicken into small 1.5 cm dice and toss with the yogurt, Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, cumin, half the garlic and half the salt. Leave for 15 minutes. Small pieces cook fast and spread evenly inside the tortilla.
Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 240 gPlain yogurt 40 gKashmiri chili powder 1 tspGaram masala ½ tspGround cumin ¼ tspGrated garlic ¾ tspSalt ¼ tsp
Heat half the oil in a 26 cm frying pan over high heat, spread out the chicken and cook for . Leave it alone for the first 1 to 2 minutes so it chars. It is ready when it is white all the way through with brown spots here and there.
Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tsp
high heatTurn the heat down to medium heat, add the onion and cook for 1 minute, then add the rest of the garlic, the tomato paste, cream and remaining salt and cook for , stirring, until the sauce is thick enough to cling to the chicken with no liquid left; a wet filling makes soggy quesadillas. Turn off the heat, stir in half the coriander and let it cool slightly.
Add in this stepOnion, finely chopped 60 gGrated garlic ¾ tspTomato paste 2 tspHeavy cream 50 mlSalt ¼ tspFresh coriander (cilantro), chopped 1 tbsp
medium heatFor the dip, mix the Greek yogurt with the mint, lime juice and salt and keep it in the fridge.
Add in this stepGreek yogurt (dip) 100 gFresh mint, chopped 2 tbspLime juice 1½ tspSalt (dip) 1 pinch
Scatter half the mozzarella and cheddar over one half of each tortilla, add the tikka chicken and red onion, cover with the remaining cheese and fold in half. Cheese on both sides acts as the glue as it melts.
Add in this stepFlour tortillas (20 cm) 4Mozzarella, shredded 80 gCheddar, shredded 40 gRed onion, thinly sliced 30 g
Brush a 26 cm pan with the rest of the oil and cook the half-moons two at a time in 2 batch(es) over medium-low heat for per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until golden and crisp and the cheese oozes at the edges. Rest for 1 minute, cut each into 3 wedges, sprinkle with the remaining coriander and serve with the mint yogurt dip.
Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tspFresh coriander (cilantro), chopped 1 tbsp
medium-low heat
Cook's tip
Leftover chicken tikka masala works brilliantly here: just reduce it in a pan until almost no sauce is left. If the heat is too high, the tortilla burns before the cheese melts.
Cooking it at camp
Cook the filling at home and bring it chilled; at camp you only toast the tortillas in a cast-iron pan or on a griddle. Over charcoal, use a pan rather than the grill grate, or the cheese runs out and burns.