I’m hoping to host two sets of friends this summer at separate times. One set keeps cayenne in their peppershaker, the other loves (and cooks a lot of) Indian food and isn’t afraid of heat. I decided to try out the NY Times Bhatti da Murgh, Indian grilled chicken with whole spices, which seemed to be a good fit for both. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not averse to guinea pigging my guests; I do it all the time. But this looked REALLY good, so I went for it ahead of time, to, you know, just be sure.

It’s a bit of a process, but doesn’t take too long, and can be marinated for 24 hours. And if you cook any Indian or Middle Eastern food you’ll likely have most of the ingredients in your pantry. AND you can adjust the heat; it calls for both cayenne and red pepper flakes. You can easily decrease the amounts of either or both. I didn’t (if anything I probably increased them a bit). Eating this made both of our noses run (in a really good way) and I damn near licked the plate. 

The recipe can be found here: Bhatti da Murgh

So whether or not I get to make this for either set of friends is incumbent on a dog named Sadie and an open US/UK travel corridor. But I’ll definitely make it again, even if it’s just for us.

Deborah