When I saw naan, a traditional Indian flatbread, for sale at my local Trader Joe's, I immediately thought "naanwich!" and figured it was high time I experimented with one of my favorite Indian takeout orders, tandoori chicken.

Creating this full-flavored spice rack of a dish is as easy as making a yogurt-based marinade and popping some chicken thighs into the oven. Just slather some storebought chutney on the warm naan, and you've got a new sandwich invention I'm calling the Tandoori Chicken Naanwich. For extra flavor and texture, I added red onions, which bake with the chicken, as well as spinach, another crucial ingredient in my favorite Indian dishes. To get my recipe and more photos, read more.

Tandoori Chicken Naanwich
Chicken recipe modified from Everyday Food
Tandoori Chicken Naanwich

Ingredients

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 to 4 cloves)
1/4 cup grated onion (1 small onion)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, excess fat removed
2 red onions, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
8 pieces of naan
1/2 cup storebought mango chutney
1 cup spinach leaves, tightly packed

Directions

  1. Place yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, onion, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, salt, pepper, cardamom, coriander, and cloves in a large bowl; combine. Add chicken, and coat with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap; chill 6 hours or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 500°F. Place onions on a large pan; top with marinated chicken. Roast about 40 minutes, until chicken is dark red, slightly charred, and juices run clear when meat is pierced. Set aside.
  3. Lower the oven temperature to 250°F and wrap the naan bread in aluminum foil. Place the foil packet in the oven until naan is warm but not toasted, 5 to 10 minutes.
  4. To make each sandwich, spoon 2 tablespoons of chutney on one slice of naan, then top with 1/4 cup of spinach. Add onion slices to taste, followed by 1/4 of the chicken. Top it off with another naan slice, cut sandwich in half, and serve.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

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