Chicken Tikka Pita with Cucumber Raita

    9-year-old Shakthi Ramachandran's Chicken Tikka Pita with Cucumber Raita Recipe
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    chicken tikka pita

    Shakthi Ramachandran, Age 9, of Indiana says: “My dad is from India and I like Indian food, especially chicken tikka masala. So I worked with him to make it into a sandwich. I love chicken and I also like to eat a lot of vegetables. This recipe combines all these things!”

    • Makes 4Servings

    Ingredients

    Chicken Tikka

    • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
    • 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
    • 1 tbsp. olive oil
    • 1 tbsp. tikka masala spice blend or paprika
    • 2 tsp. garam masala or ground coriander
    • 1  1/2 tsp. ground cumin
    • 1  1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
    • 1  1/2 tsp. ginger-garlic paste (or 3/4 tsp. ground ginger and 3/4 tsp. minced garlic)
    • 1 tsp. chili powder

    Cucumber Raita

    • 1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
    • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
    • 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
    • 3 sprigs mint (about 1/4 cup), leaves stripped and chopped
    • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

    Assembly

    • 4 pita pockets, halved
    • 1 small onion, chopped
    • 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
    • 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
    • 4–5 leaves romaine lettuce, chopped (about 2  1/2 cups)
    • 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
    • 1/2 English cucumber, sliced

    Preparation

    1. For the chicken tikka, in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover; let marinate in the fridge at least 4 hours or overnight.

    2. Preheat the broiler. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a large ovenproof skillet. Broil until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. 

    3. In a medium bowl, combine all the raita ingredients; season with salt. 

    4. To assemble, fill the pita with the vegetables, chicken and raita.