Chicken tikka skewers with mint sauce & charred onions

The cook

1. 01

   Step 1GET THE MARINADE ON

   Mix all the marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl, then add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 4–12 hours. The yoghurt and spices need time to cling and get properly acquainted. Allow this marinating time in addition to the 25 minutes of hands-on prep.

2. 02

   Step 2MAKE THE COOL STUFF

   Stir together the mint sauce ingredients, taste and season with salt. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Chop the herbs finely rather than blitzing the yoghurt to water; you want a sauce that sits on the chicken, not runs straight off.

3. 03

   Step 3BUILD TWO ZONES

   Light lumpwood charcoal in your kettle or kamado. On a kettle, bank the lit coals to one side; on a kamado, use a divided charcoal basket or a half-moon heat deflector to create a cooler finishing zone. Fit the cooking grate and aim for around 230°C with the lid closed. Wait for clean-burning coals, not flames.

4. 04

   Step 4LOAD THE SKEWERS

   Thread the chicken onto metal skewers, leaving small gaps so heat can reach the edges. Let excess marinade fall back into the bowl; a thick claggy blanket will burn. Discard the leftover raw marinade. Toss the onion wedges with their oil and salt, then thread onto separate metal skewers so you can manage their cooking independently.

5. 05

   Step 5BLISTER THE ONIONS

   Put the onion skewers over the hot zone a few minutes before the chicken. Turn regularly until the edges blister, then move to the cooler side to soften with the lid closed between turns. Allow 15–20 minutes altogether. You're after blackened tips and a tender middle, not raw onion wearing a charcoal coat.

6. 06

   Step 6CHAR THE CHICKEN

   Lay the chicken skewers over the hot coals and turn every 1–2 minutes. Give them roughly 6–8 minutes to build deep red, lightly charred edges. Keep watching: yoghurt catches quickly, so move any fast-colouring skewers away from the fiercest heat.

7. 07

   Step 7FINISH WITHOUT FRAZZLING

   Move the chicken to the cooler zone and close the lid, turning occasionally, until the thickest pieces reach 75°C on a digital probe. Check several pieces without touching the metal skewers. Expect around 12–18 minutes total chicken cooking time, but trust the thermometer rather than the clock.

8. 08

   Step 8REST AND GET STUCK IN

   Transfer the chicken to a clean warm platter and rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered. Lift the onions off their skewers and toss with the finishing lemon juice. Serve alongside the rested chicken with generous spoonfuls of cold mint sauce. Use gloves or tongs for those metal skewers; they'll still be fierce.