Turkey Tikka

Dieting, or “eating clean” as they say can get rather…boring at times. It doesn’t have to be though; you just need to use your imagination. Spices are your friend, they add nothing but flavor and the possibilities are endless!

A couple weeks ago I was chatting with Roy, or rather texting. He sent me a picture of his food, it looked wonderful! I asked him what it was and he said “chicken in spices and yogurt”…hmm, I can do that, low cal and delicious!

I asked him to get the recipe- he sent me this:

Not a lot of detail huh? But that’s ok, I can deal with that! As I say over and over, “Cooking is an art not a science”.

I made a change though, something else I always say “Rules are meant to be broken, they are merely guidelines for people who can’t figure out life on their own.”

I used turkey tenderloins! Ha ha ha!! I just happened to have them and I am also not a wasteful person, so I use what I have on hand.

I was home for the day; Cooper had his wisdom teeth pulled so I had time to putz around the house. Not ever having this dish, and only hearing from Roy that he enjoyed it, I just used my imagination as to correct measurements.

This is what I used, if you know anything about Chicken Tikka, feel free to let me know how I did!

I assembled my ingredients and this is the beautiful pallet of colors and spices.

I then smashed it all together to make a thick paste, sounded like the right thing to do.

I added in the Greek yogurt and again mixed it well to incorporate all the spices into the yogurt.

Then I added the turkey that I had cut into large pieces and made sure it was all well coated. I snapped a lid on it and put it in the refrigerator for two days. It was only supposed to stay for one, but I forgot about it! 

Roy said to bake it at 350 degrees and cover it with foil so it stayed moist.  I texted a picture when it was done and he said it looked right to him.

About that time I decided I should write about it so I asked him what it was called. He said: “Well, if you ordered it in a restaurant it would be called Chicken Tikka.” I laughed hysterically; I have seen the name many times and was always interested as I like the name.

Doesn’t Turkey Tikka sound better?

I like it, although I have no idea if it tastes like it is supposed to. It is mild, I was expecting something a bit spicier, so I added some sriracha sauce after I warmed it up to eat it, this was quite tasty.

You can serve this with any cooked plain green vegetable and I found it delightful with sautéed mixed cabbage (I have been eating a lot of that lately). If you eat starch then a sweet potato or brown rice is good also.