Spicy yogurt-marinated tandoori chicken, crunchy lime coriander slaw, fragrant pesto and buttery burger buns. Jump to Recipe
I’ve never been a cooking show person. Their rise in popularity over the last few years has been monumental – Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules are some of the most highly rated TV shows in Australia, and their judges are household names. It’s mainly the lack of time to sit down and watch the five new Masterchef episodes that churn out weekly that turns me off. And the fact that I get way too frustrated with the contestants, and just want to shout “but I could do that!” (mostly, anyway). But there is something else, too.
They turn the necessity of cooking into an artificial, contrived competition – removing the enjoyment and replacing it with stress, staged emotional conflict between contestants and booming reality TV theme songs. I read recently that during Masterchef, the entire pressurised tasting segment really involves cold plates of food, completed hours earlier and refrigerated while the judges go off to eat lunch first. Apparently if you have time, you make two of your dish – so the judges can try one during filming while it is still fresh. I get that this is probably unavoidable with the nature of TV schedules etc etc…but doesn’t it make those exaggerated judge reactions, swallowing down mouthfuls of tepid food, seem a little bit fake? I’m not 100% against it. It has launched the successful careers of many now (with Nadia Lim being a prime example), and it’s entertaining – it’s just not my thing.
Enter Chef’s Table, the Netflix documentary style series documenting the rise of professional chefs in high-end restaurants worldwide. It’s the raw challenges – the 15, 16, 17 hour days, the lack of a life outside of the kitchen, the questioning of “is this even worth it?”, the bleeding fingers and extreme pressure to succeed – set against a backdrop of elegant visuals and artistic camera work. Though more focussed on the individual chef than the food, it is another case of living vicariously through the screen. We can imagine visiting that $300 per head restaurant and watch the behind-the-scenes footage of the kitchen plating ethereal dishes. Yes, it’s inspiring. Yes, it’s beautiful. Yes, I find it fascinating as a person fully interested in every aspect of the industry and its players. Yes, I’m sure I will end up watching the remaining episodes. But it’s not how 99.999% of the world cooks or eats.
This morning I listened to a Food52 podcast interview with Nigella Lawson. For her it is about love, and food, and relatability. It’s a change from the elaborate, complicated world of professional chefs and cooking competitions – as she says, “it’s not performance art cooking”. She discusses the rhythm of the kitchen, the playfulness of changing up ingredients, the simplicity of a recipe made so many times it almost runs in your veins. But she acknowledges that “you don’t always feel like cooking”, and that it isn’t always enjoyable – which is a particularly human approach. She is a home cook, an eater. It’s the language of somebody who loves food, but doesn’t always have time to follow recipes, and knows food well enough to take the fridge contents and make something of it – a skill I am trying to work on.
While cooking shows will remain popular, and Chef’s Table is a fascinating insight into the world of professional kitchens – it is Nigella’s perspective that stuck with me the most. Over here at The Brick Kitchen, I can’t see a particular philosophy, or theme, to these recipes – it’s just what I love to eat.
I’m not sure I’ve seem my brothers demolish burgers as fast as these tandoori chicken brioche sliders with coriander-cashew relish. It’s a soft, tender brioche bun, smeared with a nutty-herby relish that gives a gingery-coriander kick to the dish. Tenderised with greek yogurt and lemon juice, the grilled chicken thighs marinate in an easy spice mix, and it’s all layered together with a crunchy cabbage-cucumber salad and minty yogurt raita. If you’re enjoying summer barbecues in the US, or need a bit of heat in the Southern hemisphere winter – they’re for you.
The sliders were originally dreamt up by Sid Sahrawat, owner of restaurants Cassia and Sidart in Auckland (both of which I would highly recommend, if you are ever there) – and I’ve only made a few slight changes for ease of recipe-following, as well as the brioche bun addition. If the homemade brioche buns push them into the too-hard-basket for you, just buy them. I’m all for shortcuts when you are short on time. The brioche buns I made ended up being a bit big for a slider, and a bit small for a burger, so my family decided to rename them “slurgers”. Still not sure how I feel about that.
- 6 boneless , skinless chicken thighs, each cut in half
- 1 heaped tablespoon finely grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
- pinch chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 50 g cashews , roasted
- 4 green chillies , deseeded and roughly chopped
- 35 g peeled fresh ginger , roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup coriander , stems and leaves roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup mint leaves
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 2 lebanese cucumbers , julienned
- 2 cups green cabbage , shredded
- juice of 1 lemon
- handful of finely chopped mint leaves
- 125 g greek yogurt
- salt and pepper
- 12 brioche sliders (recipe below if you wish to make your own).
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To marinate the chicken, combine the chicken with all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, stirring to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to a day
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To make the relish, blitz the cashews in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until a paste forms. If it seems a bit dry, add a splash of water to loosen it up. Taste to adjust seasoning.
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Make the yogurt raita by stirring a handful of finely chopped mint leaves and freshly ground salt and pepper to the greek yogurt.
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To make the slaw, toss together the shredded cabbage, lebanese cucumber and lemon juice.
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When ready to serve, cook the chicken on a medium heat barbecue grill plate or a hot pan for 3-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through (check by cutting open a thick piece of thigh).
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Layer up the sliders with a brioche bun, a smear of coriander-cashew relish, a chicken thigh, a dollop of yogurt raita, and top with cabbage & cucumber slaw.
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 3 cups bread/high grade flour
- ⅓ cup all purpose/ plain flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2½ tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
- extra tablespoon of milk for the wash at the end
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In a small bowl, combine the warm water, milk, yeast and sugar.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if kneading by hand), combine the flours & salt. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the butter is the size of crumbs.
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Attach the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and egg.
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Run the mixer of medium for 5-8 minutes, until a soft, smooth, supple dough forms. (if kneading by hand, knead for 8-10 minutes)
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Remove the dough from the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover bowl with a clean, damp tea towel and let rise until it has doubled in size (1-2 hours, depending on room temperature - it took 1.5 hrs for me in a 20°C room).
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Line a baking tray with baking paper. Tip out the dough onto a chopping board, and divide with a knife or kitchen scissors into 12 even pieces.
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To shape into balls, gently tuck the edges of the dough underneath it. Using a flour-free space on your board, cover the ball with your hand (seam side down), and gently roll in a circular motion into a tight ball (with a floured surface the dough will simply slip around, rather than lightly sticking to form a ball)
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Transfer to the baking tray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until puffy and slightly risen.
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Preheat the oven to 200°C.
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Gently brush each bun with milk (to ensure a shiny surface on your finished buns).
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Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before serving.
These look delicious! I would definitely make these in my kitchen.
I must admit I love Masterchef Australia, it has a special place in my heart because of the relationship between George, Gary and Mat. I think they really do feel for the contestants rather than Pete Evans and Manu Whatshisface who seem to be plastic and very contrived. While they do need the drama and suspense and the tension to gain ratings, I think it is in the simple things that make the show great. But that’s just my opinion on Masterchef Australia in particular and others for differently.
For example, I have never liked Nigella Lawson. I find her to be irritating and annoying, to make things I would never in a million years eat. I find it difficult to connect with a food personality when what they cook is something I could not imagine actually enjoying. But then that’s why there are lots of different cuisines and different celebrity chefs. We all have our own tastes.
I feel I should watch Chef’s Table but at the moment I’m concentrating on Feed the Beast. It’s a TV series about two best friends who open a fine dining restaurant in the Bronx. While it is scripted and not reality, it’s an amazing show. The food, the wine, the energy of the show is amazing!
Oooh long comment! Sorry about that. It all boils down to, I love the idea of a tandoori chicken slider 🙂
Hahah I don’t mind long comments at all, no need to apologise! And I’m hardly a cooking show expert either – I have to admit that I’ve never watched any of Nigella’s shows, I just loved how she discussed food on the Food52 podcast! Definitely give Chef’s Table a go – I find it fascinating to see the challenges faced by non-celebrity chefs and how they get their inspiration and drive to succeed. Hope you are having a lovely week! xx
I am obsessed with Chef’s table but knew from the day I watched that show that I would never be a professional cook. I love Masterchef mainly because it inspires me to try or ‘think’ to try things I never have before and because it is on a dinner time when I get home haha.
These ‘sluggers’ look amazing. I think there might be a need for a burger night in my house so I can try this. Is it spicy? Mr. H is not a fan of the spice… haha.
Funny thing about feeling like cooking, some days when the inspiration hits, it all makes sense and everything comes out delicious and amazing. Sometimes you can just have a bad cook where nothing is working (enter Masterchef — when contestants are seemingly capable but also have bad cook days) I have friends that worked on Masterchef and they said that it is an express chefs course, lots of hours, lots of learning but it never really prepares the contestants for the real kitchen life. I think it tends to breed a particular type of cook – the TV presenting, cook book/recipe developer types… But how wrong is it to record the judges eating cold food?! They often break for a meal break right after a challenge and I am guessing when it is a dessert, the judges are lapping it up because it tastes the way it should.
I have been on a blogging break for a while and I have found joy in just cooking from whatever is in my fridge. It is not always pretty to look at but the taste and the outcome is always satisfying. For now, reading inspiring and delicious blog posts like yours will do 🙂
Keep up the great work. I love your recipes and your approach to food. x
Haha I know what you mean, it really demonstrates exactly how tough a career being a chef is, and the difficulty in actually reaching any success. And you are such a masterchef lover, it’s great! I must admit that I do still want to tackle a croquembouche sometime…
These burgers aren’t that spicy – I would say it is pretty mild, but if you wanted to reduce it again just leave out the chilli flakes in the chicken marinade and make sure to use mild green chillies in the relish, but it definitely is not mouth burn territory at all.
Ugh I had such a big blog baking weekend last weekend -I think I made 4 different things and photographed them, and by the end I was reaching the dregs of my motivation and enjoyment…I can’t imagine trying to make things 24/7 in a competition like masterchef.
Hope you are having a good week and can’t wait to brunch with you this weekend! x
Now these are some creative delicious looking sliders!
Thanks Nicole!
I can’t stand the food network anymore. If I see another episode of Chopped or another competition featuring Bobby Flay, I will scream. I miss when they had real cooking shows that actually taught you new skills and recipes. I hope they never cancel The Pioneer Woman. I do love Chef’s Table, and I also listen to quite a few food podcasts that are just wonderful. I love when Nigella appears in them – a bit too much!
These burgers souns incredible. I crave tandoori and it’s been years since I’ve had any. I love the flavors and how you built them in these sandwiches. I need them. Preferably while listening to Splendid Table!
I’ve never watched The Pioneer Woman – will have to have a look at that, and Splendid Table! It is so true, hardly any cooking shows now actually teach new skills, or make recipes that are achievable at home. A five hour, arduous dessert on masterchef is something hardly anyone would tackle at home. Thanks so much Amanda 🙂
I’m absolutely loving these slider Claudia. They sound incredibly flavorful. And that relish! Oh my goodness! I think I’s want to slather over everything!
Haha it is a great relish, it would be amazing on most sandwiches or even drizzled on a thai style soup. So many options! Thanks Mary Ann 🙂
Claudia! This looks unreal. I need to make it immediately. Love the flavor combo here. Yummo!
Thanks so much Becky, would love to know what you think if you give them a go 🙂
Hi Claudia, I also like watching Nigella. She brings home cooking in a very professional setting, and not to mention the love she speaks as she prepares each dish. Your tandoori chicken sandwich looks divine. It is early morning here and I am so craving that sandwich. The chicken looks beautiful cooked with all those juices caramelized and golden on the surface leading you to a juicy moist interior and the freshness of the sauce and greens soothing the spice of the protein. Well done. I am all in for this.
Have a great weekend.
Loreto
Thanks Loreto! She really does have love for each ingredient, the process and the end product – which I find really inspiring, You hit it on the head with the sliders- the green pesto adds herby-ness and the yogurt raita balances out all the spices involved. Definitely give them a go if you get the chance! Hope you are having a good week 🙂
I need to listen to that interview with Nigella! Sounds like the way I like to cook, too 🙂 these sliders look so incredible, I seriously wish I could grab one off the screen and devour it…I’m SO hungry, haha. Must try this soon!
Yes definitely give it a listen when you are driving somewhere for half a hour – she just sounds like the sort of person that would make the best dinner party conversation (and the best food to go with, of course!). Thanks so much Rachel!
I love ‘Mind of a Chef’ so I’ve been told I need to watch ‘Chef’s Table’. I’m actually in a Netflix lull right now, so this may be a great time to finally start watching. So these tandoori sliders are pure gold! Absolute genius! I’m seriously salivating here and I’m really wishing I could just reach through the screen right now and grab one! Brilliant dish! Truly stellar!!!
Oooh I haven’t seen Mind of a Chef – will definitely have to check it out. It’s just so fascinating to watch how these chefs get to where they are and where they get their creativity and inspiration from. And thank you so much, hope you are having a lovely week x
These photos are just so beautiful. I heard something similar about Masterchef (and don’t get me started on Masterchef Jr! It’s all fake!!). Cold food doesn’t sound good to me either – I’d much rather make these sliders for a BBQ with a panel of friend judges;)
Thanks Sarah! Ugh masterchef junior is the worst, eight year olds really aren’t up to that! And so so true, good company and good food sounds much more enjoyable to me than a masterchef pressure test. Hope your week is going well! x
These are really awesome looking sliders! I have not started chef’s table yet on Netflix. I’v watched every other documentary on that app and I don’t know why I haven’t started that one!
Thanks Derek! Do give Chef’s Table a go, its pretty fascinating to see how the chefs got to where they are today, and the way it is shot is beautiful.
This sounds like such an amazing combination of flavors and textures!
Thank you! I’m in love with those brioche buns – can’t wait to make this again! x
OMG this looks so delish! Can’t wait to try this! Also congrats on being nominated by Saveur!
Thanks so much Kitty, I still can’t quite believe it myself! Let me know how you get it if you give these a go! x