Shimla Spice – established in 1998, and with its flagship restaurant in Keighley – was the vision of three brothers, who from a very early age wanted to make a name for themselves in the culinary world.

They began their quest in the highly competitive London restaurant scene and worked their way up to head chefs and managers, before returning ‘home’ to Keighley and setting up their first eatery.

It was an instant success and its reputation mushroomed.

The brothers opened a second restaurant in Shipley in 2006, with a launch event attended by Chico of X Factor fame. And next year will see the opening of a 200-seater branch across the border in Lancashire, with more restaurants set to follow in the future.

Shimla Spice has won an array of national and regional awards, including Keighley News Restaurant of the Year twice. It was the Spice Times ‘Best Indian Restaurant in Yorkshire’ in 2010, and was also among winners in the inaugural Keighley News-backed Keighley Business Awards earlier this year.

It’s latest triumph saw Shimla Spice named best restaurant in the Yorkshire Region and Restaurant of the Year at the highly-regarded English Curry Awards.

To help celebrate this superb achievement, Shimla spice reveals, for the first time ever, details of its top secret Chicken Tikka starter, just for Keighley News readers!

Shimla Spice Keighley branch manager, Faisal Hussain, said: “This is a dish that is possibly on every indian restaurant’s menu throughout the world.

“Not only is it one of the most popular starters on a Indian restaurant menu, but many people also cook it for a home barbecue.

“Many restaurants have their own special secret marinade for Chicken Tikka. We would like to share our secret recipe exclusively with Keighley News readers. This is very easily cooked, depending on the marinade you use.”

 

RECIPE

Chicken Tikka starter
Ingredients
4 Chicken breasts cubed
1 pint cup of natural yogurt
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1 tablespoon of garlic paste
1 tablespoon of ginger paste
Red food colouring
1 Lemon
Method
1. Squeeze all the lemon juice out of the lemon and then add all the above ingredients, except the chicken, into a bowl
2. Add some water and stir all the ingredients with the yogurt to form a light red-coloured marinade
3. Add salt to the marinade, according to taste
4. Marinate the chicken in the marinade for at least a minimum of two hours, but if you leave it marinating overnight, you will get better results
5. Once your grill or barbecue is ready, place each piece of chicken onto a skewer, shaking off all excessive juice, and cook for at least 15 minutes
6. Do remember to cook all sides of the chicken equally to avoid burns
7. Check the chicken by cutting it down the middle. If the juices go through the chicken, then it’s ready to go
8. Garnish the chicken tikka with some lemon juice