Healthy Chicken Salad

 

Ingredients for marination :

Boneless chicken breasts - 2 ,
Yogurt - 2 tbsp ,
Lemon - 1/2   ,
Tandoori pwd - 1 tbsp ,
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp ,
Red chilli pwd - 1/2 tsp ,
Salt to taste .
Oil - 2 tsp .

Ingredients for green salad :
Since i could not get lettuce or baby spinach i used green cabbage .
Green cabbage - 8 to 10 leaves ,
Carrot -  2 small ,
Tomato - 2 ,
Cucumber - 2 ,
Onion - 2 .

Ingredients for yogurt mint dressing :
Yogurt - 2 tbsp ,
Mint - a handful ,
Honey - 1 tbsp ,
Salt and pepper ,

Lemon juice - 1/2 .

Method :
Take a small bowl and mix  yogurt ,tandoori masala ,red chilli pwd and ginger garlic paste and keep aside .
Put the chicken breast on a plate and sprinkle salt ,black pepper and lemon juice on both sides of the chicken .

Coat the tandoori yogurt paste on the chicken breasts ( both sides  ).
Cover with a cling film .
Let the chicken breasts marinate in the fridge overnight or for 4 to 5 hours in the fridge .


Take a small size cabbage and  discard the lower hard part .
Gently peel  out  8 to 10 leaves of the cabbage .Discard  the  lower central  hard  vein of each leaf .

Blanch the leaves for a minute in hot boiling water  and let it rinse in cold ice water for  5 minutes .

Squeeze out the water and keep in a plastic bag and put in the fridge and take out  only when you assemble the salad  .
Like wise chop all the salad vegetables and  then put them in fridge .( not the onions )
When the chicken is marinated take out from fridge and let it stay in room temperature for 1/2 hour .
Pre heat oven to 180 C.
Take a grill pan and  when the pan is hot put 1 tsp of oil  .

Toss the chicken breasts   into the pan for  1/2 minute .

Pour 1 tsp of oil on  the top side  .
Turn side and let it brown for 1/2 minute .The purpose of tossing the chicken in hot pan is that the chicken is slightly browned  .

Transfer the chicken breasts on to a greased baking tray and let it cook for 45 minutes in pre heated oven . 
After 45 minutes  chicken is cooked  .( check by a cooking thermometer  which should  read 170 F or   check by piercing a knife) .

 Cooked chicken will give out clear juice and there is no rawness in the  flesh .
Take out the baking tray and cover with a foil so that the chicken remains moist .
Cover for 15 minutes .
 Slice the chicken  pieces .
As the chicken is ready we prepare our salad plate  . 
Place the cold cabbage as the base and spread the sliced carrot ,tomatoes ,bell pepppers ,cucumber  and rings of red onion .

Place the sliced baked chicken on top and drizzle the yogurt mint dressing .
You can serve it right away or cover with a cling film and put in the fridge to cool  for sometime and serve it as a cold salad .
It is very healthy and delicious salad even the children enjoy this salad as the tandoori flavoured chicken is enjoyed and liked by all .


Yogurt mint dressing -
Put all in the ingredients in the blender and run the mixer for 20 seconds or till the mint leaves are crushed and blends in with the curd .

Take out in a bowl and keep in the fridge for sometime .