A long time ago, a dear friend taught me many things about Indian food. She would take me to the only Indian grocery store in the area (a 45 minute drive!) and we would load up on big bags of spices, lentils, and dried peppers that she would turn into magical, beautiful food, unlike anything I had ever eaten. We would heat up tortillas and butter them, eating them like chapatis. I think flatbread would be perfect for this, to scoop up spicy dal and rice during an Indian feast!

Before I had ever visited an Indian restaurant, I knew how to make chana dal, Indian chickpeas, and raita, a cooling yogurt sauce for super spicy food.

While it’s very true that cooking Indian food at home can be a complicated process, using a lot of challenging-to-find ingredients, the payoff is that your culinary horizons are expanded, and you’re rewarded with delicious food that you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for.

Over the years, I began to feel comfortable with moving away from the recipes I knew, and using all the spices in other, more non-traditional ways when I cooked. After all, we had to use up those big bags of coriander seed and turmeric somehow! I would throw some garam masala in with some ground lamb for meatballs, or slather some crushed coriander over a pork tenderloin before grilling. Most of my experiments turned out great!

This masala chicken flatbread sandwich uses a few of the usual spices used in Indian cooking, and the result is a gently spiced chicken burger that is perfect for mid summer eating with its light, cooling yogurt sauce. Don’t skimp on the toppings, the more the tastier!

If you’re feeling extra indulgent, brush the flatbreads, taking the place of naan here, with some garlic butter after warming before you build this flatbread sandwich.

Amy at Flatout