Thomasina Miers’ turmeric chicken with garlic, kefir and chilli. Photograph: Yuki Sugiura/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Aya Nishimura. Food styling assistant: Alex Jorge. View image in fullscreen Thomasina Miers’ turmeric chicken with garlic, kefir and chilli. Photograph: Yuki Sugiura/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Aya Nishimura. Food styling assistant: Alex Jorge. Thomasina Miers recipes Food Thomasina Miers’ recipes for turmeric chicken and cardamom apple tart A rich and sweet chicken main and a punchy tart to round off the meal
Thomasina Miers Tue 29 Sep 2026 07.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google D espite the back-to-school, back-to-work vibes of September, I also think it’s a time of celebration. There’s the feeling of new things, with apples, corn, walnuts, squash and mushrooms appearing at the markets, and my garden has finally emerged from its drought-induced slumber, as if coming out of a trance – it is greener, more alive, reawakening. There’s still the odd bit of warm weather in which to play, too, so light up the grill, get creative in the kitchen and dance like it’s June again.
Rich Indian spices, sweet onion, garlic and lemon make this marinade stand out when it hits the grill. Serve with a garlicky raita on the side.
Prep 10 min Marinate 30 min+ Cook 30 min Serves 4-6
1kg chicken thighs (about 6), preferably boneless and skin-on 2 tsp sea salt 1 medium onion , peeled and roughly chopped 2 fat garlic cloves , peeled 2 red chillies 1 tsp ground turmeric 2 heaped tsp garam masala 1 lemon 300g kefir ½ tsp chilli powder (optional) – kashmiri for a mild flavour, ancho for a rounded taste and a little heat, cayenne if you like things hot 1 handful fresh coriander , leaves picked
For the raita ½ cucumber 1 fat garlic clove , peeled and finely grated Salt and pepper
Season the chicken thighs generously with salt. Put the onions, garlic, chillies and spices in a food processor, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and blitz to a paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times as you go. Add a teaspoon of salt and 100g kefir, and blitz again to make a beautiful, ochre-coloured paste. Taste it – I like to add some chilli powder. Slather the marinade all over the chicken thighs and leave for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or for a few hours/overnight in the fridge.
Shortly before you’re ready to eat, coarsely grate the cucumber skin and all into a sieve, suspend it over a bowl, and push down to squeeze out any water (the juice is a delicious drink; try it with a little salt and pepper). Mix the squeezed cucumber with the remaining kefir and grated garlic, then season generously.
Heat a griddle pan (or barbecue) and chargrill the chicken for six minutes on each side, until the meat is cooked through and the skin is deliciously crisp and golden. Serve scattered with fresh coriander, the remaining half-lemon cut into wedges and the raita.
View image in fullscreen Thomasina Miers’ sugar-burnt cardamom apple puff tart. Photograph: Yuki Sugiura/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Aya Nishimura. Food styling assistant: Alex Jorge. A crisp, caramelised, scented tart that takes very little time to prepare, but still feels like a proper pudding.
10 green cardamom pods 100g sugar Salt 5 medium sharp, crisp apples (about 450g) Juice of ½ lemon 40g unsalted butter 1 320g sheet shop-bought puff pastry (preferably all-butter) Plain flour , for dusting 1 small egg 40g ground almonds
Start by making a…