Tandoori duck tacos with kachumber salad

This tapas-inspired mash up is my new favourite way to eat roast duck and tacos.

Although this is a totally made-up dish, I think tandoori duck tacos need to become a thing from now on. I originally created this recipe as a cheaper twist on duck pancakes, but it’s morphed into this fresh and vibrant platter with influences from three different continents.

The shop-bought tacos act as the vessel for my shredded duck legs, which are flavoured with tandoori curry powder.

The colour and health comes from a vibrant chopped salad, which is dressed with a cooling mint and yoghurt raita. There is nothing pretty about the way you eat it, so load up those tacos and get stuck in!

How To Make Tandoori Duck Tacos With Kachumber Salad

• Chef Catling’s recipe notes
• Recipe: Tandoori duck tacos with kachumber salad
• Frequently asked questions

Tips & Notes To Know

• Choose legs over breasts: Duck legs are half the price and have enough fat and connective tissue to stay moist and shred easily after roasting.
• Use a trivet: Roast the duck on a rack or a bed of vegetables to elevate the legs. This prevents them from sitting in their own fat and the skin from going soggy.
• Don’t waste the duck fat: Save the rendered fat for roasting potatoes or stir fries — it’s liquid gold.
• Colour your salad: Kachumber is traditionally made with cucumber, red onion and tomato but why stop there? I’ve included mango to play up to the Mexican vibe, but a little carrot, radish or pineapple would complement the duck and raita well.

Tandoori duck tacos with kachumber salad

Serves: 2 Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 90 mins 90 mins

Pin

Print

Ingredients

For the duck tacos
2 duck legs, skin on
1/2 tbsp tandoori curry powder
6 taco shells

For the mint and yoghurt raita
150ml natural yoghurt (0% fat)
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, grated
1/2 lime, juiced

For the kachumber salad
1/2 small mango, cut into 1cm chunks
1/2 cucumber, cut into 1cm chunks
2 salad tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped into 1cm chunks
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
Small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

To serve
2 tbsp mango chutney, optional

Instructions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 160C. Pierce the skin, not the meat, of both duck legs several times and rub the skin with the tandoori curry powder. Season with sea salt and place on a baking tray.

Step 2
Roast the duck legs in the oven for 90 minutes or until the skin is crisp and the meat pulls away from the bone. Remove most of the duck fat from the bottom of the tray every 30 minutes and keep for another time.

Step 3
To make the raita, pour the natural yoghurt into a bowl and stir through the mint leaves, crushed garlic and a pinch of salt. Season to taste with the lime juice and cover with clingfilm. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Step 4
When the duck legs have cooked, leave for 5 minutes before shredding the meat. Heat the tacos in the oven for 2-3 minutes while you prepare the kachumber salad.

Step 5
Add the diced mango to a bowl with the cucumber, tomato, red onion and red chilli. Squeeze over the lemon juice and stir through the chopped coriander. Serve the kachumber salad alongside the shredded duck, tacos, mango chutney and raita.  

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Raita?

Raita is a quick and refreshing Indian side dish, made from unsweetened yoghurt, fresh herbs and finely-diced vegetables or fruit (think cucumber, carrot or mango).

Traditionally it is served as a cooling condiment to complement a spicy curry or biriyani, but why stop there? One of my favourite recipes uses a cucumber raita in my spin on a prawn sandwich, made with crab.