#BookClubCookbookCC: Chicken Tikka Kebabs

So.
I posted on Facebook and Twitter recently that I was about to embark upon a new project with some old food blogger friends.  That time is finally here!  I'm so happy to say that for the next year, I will be participating in the Book Club Cookbook Cooking Crew for a time of fun, food and good prose.
Hosted by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, this project brings together 11 bloggers around The Book Club Cook Book (Revised Ed) by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.  Each month between now and next July (other than December), 1 blogger will choose a book from the cookbook and invite us all to make food that is inspired by the title of the month.  You can draw on the recipe included in the cookbook, or choose something else that uses the themes and food included in the book.
I've so enjoyed just reading the cookbook!  There are old favourites of books that I have read in the past, as well as books I've never heard of that sound so interesting!  I was thrilled that the first selection was something I was unfamiliar with, seeing as it's the beginning of summer and I needed reading inspiration.  I'm sure that that will continue long after the project ends too.
This month's selection was chosen by our fearless leader, Camilla.  She invited us to "make curry and drink a lassi" with her while reading Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpra Lahiri.

This collection of 9 short stories all have characters who somehow relate to India:  either immigrants to Europe and the US, or US-born characters with Indian heritage.  I so enjoyed the stories, especially Mrs. Sen's and This Blessed House.  There was something about Twinkle and her display of relics that made me smile; just like Mrs.Sen and her stories to Eliot about life in Calcutta.  While most of these stories have a huge food element to them, I took my inspiration from When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine.  In that story, the narrator tells the story of Mr. Pirzada, a man who has come to America to study plants, is invited to dinner by her parents regularly.  I had already started to toy with what to make, and when I saw the phrase "platters of kebabs", I knew what I was going to do.
My making of Indian food is usually based upon browning the chicken and adding a bottle of Patak's Butter Chicken Sauce.  While I enjoy the flavours, I don't often spend the time to make it.  I didn't really think Patak's would cut it for this, and the egg curry was called an "acquired taste", so I didn't think that it was a taste that I would quickly acquire.  I don't like hard-boiled eggs.
As my Facebook friends know, I've been cleaning out my office.  It's been crazy the amount of crap that I have been lugging from house to house.  Crazy, I tell you!  But one of the things I found was a Bon Appetit Tastes of the World that I have no clue how I acquired, nor had I used ever.  I started flipping, and soon found something that sounded good.
I present to you now from Bon Appetit Chicken Tikka Kebabs:

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c plain yogurt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp grond tumeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp butter, melted
Method:
1.  Combine chicken, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl.  Mix and set aside for 30 minutes.
2.  In a small bowl, combine yogurt and spices. Mix well, and then pour over chicken.  Gently stir to ensure all chicken is coated.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight to let marinate.
3.  Soak 12 bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.  Thread chicken on skewers while the grill heats to medium-hot.  Brush chicken with butter and grill until just cooked through, turning frequently.

From Bon Appetit Tastes of the World

The marinade itself was gritty.  There was a lot of ground spice in it, and tumeric turns things a violent yellow (it's what makes mustard yellow).  But it smelled so good going into the fridge.

J and I ran out of propane almost a month ago when my mother was over, and we still haven't made it to get a new tank (I'm an introvert at heart...I don't really want to leave the house if I don't have to), so I pulled out the indoor grill and started grilling.

It doesn't really give the grill marks the outdoor grill would have, but the flavour was delicious.  I served these one night with rice and a vegetable, and reheated the leftovers off the skewer with rice, butter and green onions.  Yum.

Giveaway

And to kick-off the event, Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla, this month's host, is giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authorsby Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy ofTarcher-Penguin.Giveaway runs from July 1st till July 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

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*Disclosure: Camilla received a complimentary copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp to use in this year-long project plus the opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.