Curry & Wine: Which Wine Will Go With Afghani Tawa Chicken?

Finding the perfect wines to pair with India’s rich and varied cuisines with Indian Weekender. Chef Sid Chopra, owner of GOAT Restaurant in Auckland and Wine Enthusiast Timothy Giles are pairing wines with one of Sid’s succulent and contemporary Indian dishes.

The Dish : Afghani Tawa Chicken, Inspired by the earthy flavour of Afghani cuisine.
Afghan spiced tandoori chicken thigh, onion, lemon, green chilli, matsuri,
cashew crème.

The Wines
1. Elephant Hill ‘Le Phant Rouge’ Hawkes Bay 2021 rrp $29 light bodied and flavoursome red.
2. Lake Chalice ‘Plume’ Marlborough Chardonnay 2022 rrp $50 Powerful
rich white.

Sid says : 
Another dish from my travels, Afghani Tawa Chicken is all about layering flavours and textures. India’s best food is often in the roadside grills, the open-fire tandoors, the smoky, spice-laden stalls across the country.

You’ll find this cooked there, Marinated chicken comes out of the blazing hot tandoor, smothered in butter and cream. It looks unhealthy but its so tasty!

I wanted a take on that. So into R&D in the kitchen, to retain all that lovely richness, without giving my diners cholesterol issues! Instead of relying on butter and cream, I’m leaning on cashews to bring a velvety richness. I think we succeeded and reimagining a classic retaining its rustic roots. Since opening in August, this is our top-selling entrée.

I like seeing Giles take on choosing wines for this because there’s so much here. every bite hits differently—the deep smokiness from the tandoori chicken, the sweet caramelisation of onions as they hit the tawa. Heat of green chilies, and the tang of whole lemons, skin and all. It’s magic when it all comes together. This is exactly the kind of Indian food I love to share.

Timothy says: 
I did not expect this to wine to work. Mid-meal, lots of flavours already enlivening our senses and the Afghani chicken arrived. As Sid says it’s a lot. Flavour, lemon tang , chilli zing. So when my fiend ordered a glass of Marlborough Chardonnay, The Plume 2022 by Lake Chalice. I looked sideways at her, thinking, ‘how could a young Chardonnay’ bear all this heat and texture?

With ease! What a wine. So much body, it’s curvaceous. Oodles of apple and citrus fruit that harmonise with the lemon. Chilli, so often an enemy of wine, just shows the generosity of Plume.

Revealing a fruit-sweetness that without the dish, is hidden behind the freshening acidity in all good
Marlborough Chardonnay. I was wrong, she was right, it’s a match!

For red drinkers, Sid lists from Hawke’s Bay, home of our finest blended reds, Elephant Hill ‘Le Phant Rouge’ 2021. Delightfully if unexpectedly nimble and approachable. Mostly a blend of Merlot, supple and plummy with Syrah, fragrant and peppery. Some Tempranillo and Cabernets add
to the aroma and dark-fruit depth that dances alongside the spice. Bring
all the Afghani goodness you want Sid, these wines deserve it.