From The Best Bit. Text and recipe by Clare de Boer.
The chicken recipe I’m sharing this week is a template for some of my easiest and most popular dinners. At first glance, it reads like many you’ve seen before: marinate chicken in yogurt, roast on a sheet pan. … But its aim is different. The yogurt’s job here is to do more than just tenderize and brown. Rather, it becomes the best bit of the dish as it cooks into soft, charred curds. Instead of swiping off excess marinade like most recipes ask you to do, pile it on.
My inspiration for this recipe — that I could justly torture with the title
“Essential
Weeknight Chicken” — comes from the memory of a dish I’d order at a restaurant called Bukhara in New Delhi (I lived there as a child from ’91–’98). It was listed on their menu as “Shampoo Chicken” for the spice-less marinade that had a sudsy look when it came out of the tandoor. It was beloved beyond the expat kids they’d designed it for, undoubtedly because the skewers held so much yogurt between the pieces of chicken, it was like getting a side of paneer.
At its base, this recipe asks you to lather pieces of skinless, boneless chicken in seasoned, full-fat yogurt and cook in your hottest oven. The yogurt sits in the crags where bone has been removed and cooks into a delicate condiment. Peaks char. Liquid runs out of the yogurt and makes a clear sauce that begs for a bowl of rice. What we lose in the 360 browning that we get in a tandoor or on a grill, we gain in the capture of juices, making this method complete and easy. You don’t need to deglaze the pan or add any additional condiment.
In our house, I’ve put the dish on autopilot. The chicken has a designated bowl for marinating (recipe Sharpie’d on the lid). Whoever unpacks the groceries puts the chicken, salt and yogurt directly into the bowl. I’m quietly reassured that the chicken is improving as it sits. The recipe is forgiving and versatile — you can add herbs in the marinade or just before you put the chicken in the oven. You can use thick yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche or a mixture of all three. You can borrow Greek, Indian, Persian or Super Bowl flavors through your selection of citrus and spices. I like the green goddess-y recipe below to be heavy on the tarragon and black pepper. Cumin, ginger, chile and turmeric is another excellent combination. To get the combination of charred and tender curds, face the chicken bone-out side up.