Crispy Indian Spiced Yogurt Chicken
August 6, 2009 by Meseidy
Filed under In My Kitchen, Main Course, Noshery Original
Crispy Indian Spiced Yogurt Chicken
Hey this ain’t no shake-n-bake! Do you remember shake-n-bake? Do they still sell shake-n-bake? And, no I am not making any reference to the movie Talladega Nights. This is not Ricky Bobby here. My mother went through a shake-n-bake phase when I was a kid…..man am I glad that is over.
I have been on a bit of a lazy streak lately. Searching for dinner options that require minimal effort but are still interesting. Earlier this week I was killing some time Stumbling during my lunch hour. I like to stumble when I get bored, you find a lot of inspiration stumbling. I stumbled upon this recipe for Crispy Yogurt Chicken from The Pioneer Woman. (If you have never visited her site you must. Homegirl is like blog royalty, check her out. ) I thought what a perfect, interesting & easy (ie. slacker) way to make chicken.
Combine 7 oz. of greek yogurt with 3 1/2 tsp of Gram Masala, stir and taste to check if you like more seasoning. Add green onions, garlic and milk, stir till well combined.
Dredge chicken in yogurt mixture and then in panko bread crumbs.
The recipe looks absolutly delicate and tasty, but when I see yogurt used in a savory dish I usually think Indian or Greek. I thought to myself, how perfect would it be to put Indian spices in the yogurt, bread it and bake it. It is like Indian “Fried” Chicken. I am even curious about how it would turn out if I actually fried it, but that would have to be for another day. I chose to use Greek yogurt because it is thicker and has less water in it, making the coating nice and thick. I also used panko bread crumbs, not because the original recipe called for them, but they are my go-to choice for bread crumbs. Panko breadcrumbs are Japaneese breadcrumbs, they are a much lighter and drier then regular breadcrumbs. This produces a crispier and louder crunch then other breadcrumb
Place chicken in buttered pan, place thin pads of butter on top of the chicken & cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 35 mins. Spray broiling pan with nonstick spray, tranfer chicken to broiler set to "NORM", toast panko bread crumbs until golden brown.
Serve hot, garnish with green onions.
I was incredibly please with the results and don’t worry about a picky or suspicious eater, if they like crispy chicken they will like this.
The chicken was perfectly cooked and juicy, it almost had a creaminess to it. The spices created a very warm and sort of cozy flavor to it. It had just a smidgen of heat that was cut by the yogurt. To top it off a great crunchy crust that absorbed the all the flavor from the spices. I scraped all of the crispy brown bits from the bottom of the pan, licked my fingers, patted my belly and called it a day.
I am honesly in love with this chicken!
Crispy Indian Spiced Yogurt Chicken (2-3 Servings) (adapted from Pioneer Woman)
- 3 Chicken Thighs, skin removed
- 7 oz Plain Greek Yogurt
- 3 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 2 Green Onions, minced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1-2 Tbs Milk
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1 1/2 Tbs Butter, divided in 3
Preheat oven at 350 degrees, butter baking pan and spray broling pan.
Combine 7 oz. of greek yogurt with 3 1/2 tsp of Gram Masala, stir and taste to check if you like more seasoning. Add green onions, garlic and milk, stir till well combined.
Dredge chicken in yogurt mixture and then in panko bread crumbs.
Place chicken in buttered pan, place thin pads of butter on top of the chicken & cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 35 mins. Tranfer chicken to broiler set to “NORM”, toast panko bread crumbs until golden brown.
Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce
July 6, 2009 by Meseidy
Filed under Appetizers, In My Kitchen, Side Items
Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki
Summer is here and so is the incredible edible zucchini. There are so many different ways to eat a zucchini. I have had it grilled, had it as a bread and I even made noodles with it, which was a lot of fun. Last week I decided I will try them out as a fritter. This is a very simple recipe that comes together quickly. I served it as a side to some Greek seasoned grilled chicken. They had a great crispy edge with a softer center. The mint gave it a refreshing touch in contrast with the feta. Even if you are not a feta fan, I would encourage that you try it in this dish. The strong taste that feta is known for becomes much more mild once cooked and gives the fritter a wonderful flavor.
Zucchini Fritters (About 8 fritters) Print Recipe
- 1 lb of zucchini, grated (abt. 2 medium zucchini)
- 1 large egg
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbs panko breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbs chopped fresh mint
- 1/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
- Kosher salt
- ground black pepper
Place grated zucchini in a tea town and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid.
In a large mixing bowl wisk egg. Add zucchini, garlic, onion, flour, panko, mint and feta cheese. Mix until well combined. Season with a dash of salt and pepper.
Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Scoop 2 tbs of batter, flatten slightly and drop into the hot oil. Cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
Serve immediatly with Tzatziki Sauce.
The tzatziki I think is a must have with these fritters. It has a little bite to it because of the garlic and red wine vinegar, yet still refreshing because of the yogurt and mint. If you cannot find Greek yogurt you can substitute it for drained regular plain yogurt. Line a colander with paper towel and pour in the yogurt. Let it drain for 30 mins, until thick.
Tzatziki Sauce (Alton Brown)
- 16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
- Pinch kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced
Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Goodwill Hunting and Waffles…..it’s what’s for dinner.
home Hubby and I decided to do some Goodwill hunting. We like to scavenge the local Goodwills and Salvation Armies for interesting home and kitchen items. I like to find dishes and Hubby seems to have a fixation with anything that is cast iron. It is also a great way to “change up” your food pictures at a minimal cost. You can find all kinds of intersting dishes and items to present your food on. Here is a collage of my finds today. My favorite find was a set of 4 glasses that will be great to serve a layered dessert in. I got all of these items for a grand total of $20.00, considering there are 3 cast iron skillets in the find, I think it was a pretty awesome stinking steal.When we got home I cleaned up a bit and prept the pasta dough for lunch tommorrow. (I will be posting step-by-step photos of this) Then we had to figure out what to make for dinner. Yes, I could have made the pasta but it was already late and I still had to let the dough rest and roll it out, so we decided on something a little quicker. Hubby asked if I wanted breakfast for dinner and I thought that was an excellent idea. We got into the kitchen together and whipped up some waffles, yummy Honey Yogurt Pecan Waffles. I found the recipe on Annie’s Eats who got it from William and Sonoma.
Yummy Zucchini Snack
Zucchini and Yogurt Salad on Toast
