Spices add exotic touch to chicken dish
Bonnie Benwick shares a yoghurt-based marinade, perfect for keeping chicken breast moist and tasty.
It is said that, given a dozen hours to do so, a yoghurt marinade can tenderise chicken. Well, we don’t have that kind of time, but I can tell you what a 20-minute rest in this sunny mixture does for plain old chunks of chicken breast: It coats them, acting like a moisture-lock so the meat stays juicy. That is no small feat for white-meat chicken under the grill.
The knife work here will take you hardly any time at all, with only red onion and garlic to break down.
Even if you’re cooking for only one or two, use the amounts listed below. Leftovers will make a nice nextday lunch.
2-3 servings
Chicken picks up a lot of flavour in this quick yoghurtbased marinade, seasoned with spices you’ll find in many Persian dishes.
You might have time during the prep for this recipe to soak a few bamboo skewers; if not, you’ll need four medium-size metal skewers. I prefer using the latter, as there is no risk of stray wooden threads during the skewered-kebab dismount.
In addition to flatbread, you can serve this with rice and/or a chopped salad.
medium red onion
1 large clove garlic cup Greek yoghurt, preferably full fat 11⁄2 teaspoons ground turmeric teaspoon ground cinnamon
Generous pinch ground cardamom (up to teaspoon)
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
teaspoon salt, plus more as needed 450g boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
to 1 whole lemon
Warm flatbread, for serving
Peel and coarsely chop the red onion and garlic. Place them in a food processor, then add the yoghurt, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, crushed red pepper flakes and salt. Pulse until the onion is finely chopped, then transfer to a mixing bowl.
Cut the chicken into 3cm chunks (discarding any visible fat), seasoning it lightly with more salt.
Add the chicken to the yoghurt mixture and stir to coat evenly; let sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. (During this time, you could soak bamboo skewers in a shallow pan of water if you don’t have metal skewers.)
Meanwhile, cut the lemon (half or whole, to taste) into wedges approximately the same size as the chicken pieces.
Preheat the grill and position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from it. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil.
Thread the coated chicken pieces and lemon wedges on to the skewers so the components are just touching each other. Place the skewers on the pan; grill for about 8 minutes, turning once with tongs halfway through. The chicken and lemon should be lightly charred in spots.
Transfer to plates; pull the chicken and lemon off the skewers. Squeeze the grilled/lightly charred lemon wedges over the chicken while it’s hot, and serve with flatbread. – Washington Post
This recipe is adapted from New Kitchen Basics by Claire Thomson.