Anyone who know me knows I’m pretty much addicted to ALL cooking shows. Whether it’s Food TV, Cooking Channel, America’s Text Kitchen, Bobby Flay’s throw down, FOOD TV Next Food Network Star, Next Food Truck Race – I love them all!
So I was super excited to be contacted by Mike – from Season 4 of Food TV’s Next Food Truck Race to ask if I would like to try their new spice now on sale. Ummm. YES! I jumped at the chance for a few reasons. I make chicken frequently and making something new with chicken for my family sounded great. Another reason is I do not cook Indian Food at home. Not because I don’t like it, it’s just I’ve never ventured into getting all the spices necessary to make a great Indian dish. This is where these spice packets come in handy – it’s all there for you – which saves you money from purchasing lots of different spices AND – there are 2 sets of spice packets, so one box gives you TWO dinners! The Tikka Tikka Taco truck came in second in their season – they competed in a ton of challenging events and almost won. Learn more about their story HERE
Season 4 runners up of the Next Food Truck Race. Mike, Sam & Shaun
This is the box the spices come in
With the spices, you just need a few more things to make this dinner. Chicken, plain yogurt, garlic, ginger and lemon juice.
The instructions recommended adding garlic paste or ginger paste, but I couldn’t find that at my store, so I subbed in fresh garlic and fresh ginger.
Print Chikka Chicken Tacos + Give-a-way!This spice packet blend is amazing! It's spicy - but not too spicy - and with the cool Raita sauce on top, it's a perfect balance of flavors. If you are intimidated by making Indian food, this is a great introduction into a great cuisine!
Ingredients
- 1 Tikka Tikka Taco Spice Packet (red spice packet)
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
- 1/2 cup softened butter (optional)
- 2 TB. garlic-ginger paste (or 1.5 TB garlic paste + 1.5 TB ginger paste)*
- 1 TB. lemon juice
- Plain Yogurt
- Cilantro
- *I couldn't find the garlic-ginger paste, so I used 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
Instructions
- In a Zip-Loc gallon sized bag, add the cut up chicken, the red spice packet, the lemon juice, garlic, ginger. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Instead of adding the softened butter, I added about 1/4 cup olive oil.
- About 30 minutes before you start cooking the chicken - add 1/2 cup plain yogurt to the chicken marinade and let that sit for 30 minutes.
- You can grill this, but since it's still super cold in Chicago, I cooked the chicken in a cast iron skillet until it was 165 degrees and it starts to get browned.
- Serve on a pita with Raita Sauce (recipe to follow) grilled veggies (I chose caramelized onions and green pepper), and chopped cilantro.
There is a second spice packet in the box (the gray spice) which you mix with plain yogurt and fresh cilantro.
Print Raita SauceThis cool sauce is a perfect addition to the spicy chikka tacos!
With the leftovers, you can use it as a dip for your favorite veggies or pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 Gray Spice packet
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the yogurt, gray spice packet and fresh cilantro.
- Stir until it's all combined and keep chilled until serving.
The directions on the box said you can serve this with your choice of sauteed veggies. I decided to caramelize 1/2 a medium onion with 1 green pepper (cut into strips).
To caramelize onions and peppers, just add them to a small skillet with a little olive oil and cook on low, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. They will start getting kind of a charred color and the onions will deepen in color – so good!
Once the chicken was done, it’s time to assemble.
Take a warm pita, add the chicken and veggies, top with the Raita sauce and fresh chopped cilantro. My whole family enjoyed this – even my kids – so don’t think the flavors are too bold for them. I absolutely loved making this new dish for my family and I would recommend this product for you to try in your own home.
CLICK ON THIS LINK ON HOW YOU CAN PURCHASE THIS FANTASTIC SPICE PACKETS
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN YOUR OWN BOX TO TRY! – A WINNER WILL BE PICKET APRIL 8TH.
My new friend Mike – from Tikka Tikka Food Truck
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*disclaimer – I was given these products to try but all opinions are my own.
