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.
Prepared this yesterday and it turned out wonderful! Used leftovers to prepared a wrap with cheese, and couscous!!! Love when an easy meal can be transformed into a second easier meal! Thanks for posting! Would be trying different variations to the yogurt! On my mind buffalo sauce or some “sarachi” aka sriracha sauce!
Hi:
I love Indian food.
I will try it, the recipe is creative in its self, I will let you how it come out.
The company I work for also make a Ready to Use Tandoori Marinade & a Delhi Gravy (Tikka Massala) it practically require no prep-work. You you like I can ask my manager to send you free samples
Hi there,
I’m new to your site and excited to try some of your recipes. (The other night I tried your Spanish Bean Soup and it was yum!)
You mention switching the pan of chicken to the broiler in order to toast the bread crumbs. I have a very tiny stove in my kitchen that does not appear to have a separate broiler, although it has a broiler setting. I don’t know what that signifies, as I am renting and have no owner’s manual for this old stove.
I am wondering if there it would ruin the chicken to keep it in the oven and switch to broiler mode once the 35 minutes of baking are up, or if there is perhaps even another alternative to what you suggest here for this. Any help would be appreciated! I’m new to cooking and not aware of all my options!
Thank you,
Christianne
It will be fine to set it to the broiling option. If you look in the oven there is probably a heating element in the top of your oven. That is the broiling coil. What will happen is that coil will switch on and the one on the bottom with shut off. Just keep an eye on it because those tend to toast pretty quick since you can’t adjust the broiling “temp”.
Have fun and thanks for visiting!
Thanks so much! We tried it last night and it was so yummy! And my oven runs higher than it’s supposed to, so by the time 30 minutes had passed, the chicken was fully cooked and the bread crumbs were already really crunchy. Not to mention the bottom of the pan beginning to get charred! (I hate having an oven that runs high because it always makes everything a guessing game. This is particularly frustrating when cooking brownies!) 🙂
Thanks again.
I am so happy it turned out well. I love that chicken! It is so good!
I love this type of chicken with yogurt. Beautiful!
Gorgeous! I am an Indian and you sure don’t seem like a novice in Indian cooking 🙂
Great recipe and nice twist with the bread crumbs.
A couple of pic on Garam Masala, enjoy!
http://indianfood.about.com/od/masalarecipes/r/garammasala.htm
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/garam-marsala.aspx
Thank you for sharing, both of you above.
Cali – oooohh thanks for that recipe. I ADORE a fortune saved. This chicken looks so GOOD. Hey Nosh…I’m on my way up to Tulsa town – my daughter starts school there -moving her into the dorm Friday. Look for the crying redheaded mom needing tissues!
Can’t wait to try this chicken!
Here’s a recipe for making your own garam marsala so you don’t have to spend a fortune next time:
1 tablespoon coriander; ground
1 tablespoon cumin; ground
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper; ground
1 tablespoon fennel seeds; ground
1 tablespoon ginger; ground
1 tablespoon cardamom; ground
1 tablespoon nutmeg; ground
1 TEASPOON cloves; ground