Mexican comfort food. Well, maybe somewhere between Mex and Tex-Mex. Doesn’t matter. Chicken with tomatillo sauce is all about simple, satisfying flavours. Tomatillo, jalapeño, garlic, onion, chicken. That’s just good living.

This is a house favourite. Been around forever. I know I didn’t invent it. Maybe I evolved it though. I can’t remember. I owe somebody out there. But I don’t know who.

Chicken with tomatillo sauce starts with a good tomatillo sauce

Tomatillo sauce is a super versatile ingredient. You can use it in chicken with tomatillo sauce but there are so many other things you can do with it.

Think pork stew with tomatillo sauce. Chili verde. Brown some pork stew and simmer it in this sauce. That is one of my all time faves.

Or make a roast pork seasoned with Mexican spices and deglaze the pan with a bit of tomatillo sauce. Basically any time this sauce comes up against pan drippings you are in for a treat.

Crispy skin makes this special

Chicken with tomatillo sauce works because the chicken cooks in a sauce. But the skin stays above the liquid. So you get the best of both worlds.

A super flavourful sauce. For sure. But the crunch of crispy skin. That wonderful flavour and texture. That’s what keeps me coming back for more.

And it’s a technique you can use all over the place. Any time you’re making a braised chicken dish think about doing it this way. All the taste of a braise. And roast chicken. Magic.

Chicken with tomatillo sauce is all about big, bold, straightforward flavours. - 1 Chicken with tomatillo sauce is all about big, bold, straightforward flavours. - 2 Chicken with tomatillo sauce is all about big, bold, straightforward flavours. - 3

chicken with tomatillo sauce

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1 1/2 lbs tomatillos
  • 2-3 jalapeños - seeded and minced
  • 1 large onion - finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic - crushed
  • 2 tsp creole seasoning - plus more to season the chicken
  • up to 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • olive oil
  • salt - to taste
  • cilantro - to garnish

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
  • Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the tomatillos for 10 minutes. Drain and chop.
  • Heat a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer over medium heat.
  • Coat the chicken thighs with olive oil and season liberally with creole seasoning.
  • Film the skillet with olive oil.
  • Place the chicken, skin side down and cook until golden brown.
  • Remove the chicken from the skillet and remove all but 2 Tbsp of fat.
  • Saute the onions and jalapeños until soft, around 5 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and cook another minute.
  • Mix in the tomatillos and 2 tsp creole seasoning and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Now add 1/4 cup chicken stock and nestle the chicken in the sauce. It’s critical to keep the skin above the liquid or it will get soggy.
  • Roast the chicken until you get an internal temperature of 175F, about 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the dish. If the sauce gets too dry (like it looks like it might burn) add another 1/4 cup chicken stock.
  • When the chicken is done remove the skillet from the oven. Remove the chicken and set aside. If the sauce is too runny place the skillet over medium heat and reduce until you get a saucy but not runny consistency. If it’s too dry, add a bit more chicken stock.
  • Adjust for salt.
  • Garnish with a bit of cilantro.
  • Serve the chicken over the sauce.

Notes

Nutrition

Chicken shashlik is a great way to kick your chicken tikka up a big notch. Tandoori chicken on a bed of Indian spiced onion, green and red pepper. Simple ingredients. Explosive flavours.

I love tandoori chicken. I grew up eating it. So I look for any way I can get more of it. If you are a fan too then chicken shashlik is for you.

Chicken shashlik is like Indian fajitas

Seriously delicious Indian fajitas. This is India meets Tex Mex. Sounds crazy I suppose. Never really thought about it until I started writing this post.

But that’s what it is. Grilled chicken coated with tandoori marinade on a bed of fried peppers and onions.

If you served this up on chapatis or naan you could call it Indian chicken fajitas. Really not that different.

Except for the spicing. That’s pure Indian. No mistaking that. No mistaking where chicken shashlik comes from.

Chicken shashlik - chicken tikka on a bed of spiced peppers and onions. - 4

Make a better kebab

Chicken shashlik fixes the whole mixed kebab mess. That one has always really been a mystery to me.

Think about what you’re trying to do. Put some meat, peppers and onions on a stick. Throw it on the grill. Expect it to work out.

It is just madness. More like meat done right. Vegetables way underdone. Or worse. Bone dry meat and edible vegetables.

Makes no sense. None at all. Why would you do that? It’s mission impossible.

So why not deconstruct? Cook the meat and vegetables separately so everything is perfect?

Or go a step further. Why not grill the meat? Cook up the vegetables in a mess of spice on the stove?

That’s how they do it in restaurants. And that’s how you should do it at home.

Everything perfectly cooked

That’s exactly what this chicken shashlik is about. The chicken tikka is grilled until it’s done perfectly. The vegetables are sizzled up in Indian spices on the stove.

The two don’t see each other until they hit the plate. And everything is done just right.

Eat this like it was a kebab. A piece of chicken. A bite of pepper. Some onion.

All in one unbelievably tasty bite of chicken shashlik done right. It’s like a whole new take on fajitas came to your local Indian restaurant.

Restaurant style chicken shashlik explodes with Indian flavours. - 5 Restaurant style chicken shashlik explodes with Indian flavours. - 6

chicken shashlik

Ingredients

Chicken shashlik

  • 6 whole boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/2 batch of tandoori marinade – recipe link below
  • 1 red pepper – cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 green pepper – cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 onion – cut into 1 inch petals (one onion layer thick)
  • 1 Tbsp garlic ginger paste
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste diluted with 2 Tbsp water

Spice Mix (for the vegetables)

  • 1 tsp indian restaurant mix powder or commercial curry powder – recipe link below
  • 1 tsp kasoor methi – fenugreek leaves
  • 1/4 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • lemon to serve

Instructions

  • Marinate the chicken for about 2-3 hours in the tandoori marinade. Add the lemon juice right before grilling.
  • Soak 4 skewers in water for 30 minutes.
  • Prepare your grill for medium-high indirect heat. You will start your chicken on indirect heat and then move it over direct heat at the end.
  • Skewer 3 whole chicken thighs on two skewers set up side by side. Fold the chicken thigh in half so you have 6 layers of chicken per skewer pair.
  • Grill over indirect heat for about 25 minutes.
  • Check internal temperature after 15 minutes.
  • When you hit 160F start lightly charring the chicken over direct heat.

Peppers and onions

  • Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
  • Add the garlic ginger paste and cook, stirring constantly until the sizzles subsides (about a minute).
  • Reduce heat to low and add the spice mix. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds.
  • Stir in the diluted tomato paste and turn the heat back to medium, stirring constantly.
  • Add the peppers and onions and cook, stirring every minute or so, for about 15 minutes. You want the onions soft and the peppers pretty soft. Turn off the heat when you get there and tend to your chicken.
  • Once the chicken is done, let it rest briefly while you heat up the onion/pepper mix.
  • Serve the chicken over the onions.
  • Squirt a bit of lemon juice over top. That really brightens things up and brings everything together.
  • This goes great with Indian flatbread – think Indian fajitas…

Notes

Nutrition