Yogurt Curry Chicken

This was a fun recipe to make. And for me, super affordable! I have to admit that all the ingredients you see in the marinade, I had on hand. Except for the yogurt. Everything else was in my pantry. If you don't have an addictive spice habit, this could be more expensive if you decide to buy all the spices I've used. But it was fun and I really love this photo:

There's the ingredient list. Add some boneless, skinless chicken breast, allow to marinate for 30-60 minutes, put in the oven for 15 minutes, then under the broiler for 5 minutes.

1 cup Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt strained over night (instructions at the end of this post)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 TB olive oil
4 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp ginger, grated
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp Tandoori seasoning
1/2 tsp hot curry
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 heaping tsp garam masala
2 tsp sweet curry
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (if you have it/like it. I do, but didn't have any and the store shelf was empty)

Mix. Add up to 2 pounds chicken (boneless skinless breasts, thighs, other parts...whatever you have, it just changes the time it takes to cook).

Here's the marinade ready to be used. I had 1 pound of chicken and there was plenty for another pound of chicken.

Earlier this week, I bought a pack of chicken and cleaned and cut it all at once for the three meals. For this meal, I decided to do chicken strips.

After 15 minutes at 350 in the oven, then 5 minutes under the broiler set to high.

Dinner is done. I served with some garam masala spiced rice, topped with toasted almonds and strips of roasted bell pepper seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. Delicious meal. Now, the yogurt marinade made for some spicy chicken. I had to improvise to help the burning mouth. So I took 2-3 TB of sour cream and mixed some more garam masala (sweeter flavors) and lemon juice. This worked really well in cooling my mouth. I wish I would have had saved a little of the yogurt and had some cucumber to make a nice, bright sauce, but either would have worked.

PS: Make sure you cover you pans with foil, it'll save you the time of cleaning up a nasty mess at the end...

OK, the yogurt. I'm thrilled that I'm able to find Greek yogurt at my Giant. This hasn't always been the case. It used to be I'd have to go to Whole Foods to get it. If your store isn't carrying Greek Yogurt, look for plain, full fat yogurt (not vanilla!) and strain it. Take a fine sieve and line it with 2 layers of cheese cloth. Place this over a bowl and pour in your plain yogurt in, cover and place in the fridge overnight. What will happen? The yogurt will leak excess liquid, making for a thicker yogurt, perfect for use as a marinade, or even for dips and sauces.