Grilled avocado and tandoori chicken
Be the first on your block to put grilled avocados on the menu.
My first born has always enjoyed cooking. I am a firm believer that kids belong in the kitchen mixing, tossing, and chopping from the earliest possible age, and he is a product of that.
In preschool he came home with a yummy recipe for apple pie and insisted we make it that afternoon. In junior high he had a small business making and selling homemade pasta. In high school (inspired by the movie "Chef") he threw a summer dinner for a dozen friends. So, it was no surprise that on a warm night after coming back from his first year at college he asked if he could help me cook dinner. I was heading out to the store to pick up ingredients for grilled tandoori chicken kebabs. As I headed out he called after me to add to my list a bag of avocados. I asked what he wanted to make.
"Grilled avocados!"
It seems to me chefs everywhere have gone grill crazy — grilling pizzas and nectarines seems commonplace. But avocados? I don't much like avocados except in a fresh and spicy guacamole so I replied:
"Ugh."
Well, I ate my words. And everyone he has served grilled avocados to since has eaten them too. Hard to understand why grilling an avocado makes it so yummy but it does. Try for yourself!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 just ripe avocados
- 4 tablespoons lime juice, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped coarsely
- 2 jalapeño peppers stemmed, seeded, and cored
- 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks and strung on wooden skewers
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
- Cut avocados in half, remove seeds
- Squeeze lime juice over and brush with olive oil
- Grill cut side down, over medium-high heat until grill marks appear
- Turn cut side up and place on platter, squeeze lime and brush again with oil
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste
- Puree 2 tablespoons lime juice, yogurt, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño in a blender or processor until smooth
- Pour over the skewered chicken in a 9 inch by 13-inch glass baking dish
- Marinade in the refrigerator several hours to overnight, turning skewers occasionally
- Discard sauce
- Grill kebabs over high heat on lightly oiled grate, with cover down, turning occasionally, until grill marks appear and chicken cooked through
- Serve on clean platter after sprinkling with chopped cilantro
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 527
- Total fat: 41 g
- Saturated fat: 6.5 g
- Unsaturated fat: 32.5 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
- Sodium: 139 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 22 g
- Dietary fiber: 14 g
- Total sugars: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g