Elle's New England Kitchen

I really like Everyday Food. They have great ideas, and the recipes are quick to make and for the most part, very good. Their cookbook, Great Food Fast has tons of recipes in it, and most of them have photos. And we all know that photos of recipes aren't really necessary, but they're fun! Which is why so many of us read food blogs, right? Anyway, the book is arranged by season, which I think is good, because who wants hot beef stew in August, or a chilled summer salad when it's 50 below and blizzarding (is that even a word?) outside your door?

Today's dish is Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Sauce. It's quick (but plan ahead, there is marinating time!), delicious, and mild enough for the kids. It's a great base recipe and just waiting to be tinkered with. I'm thinking that next time, I'll add some cumin and maybe even some coriander to the marinade. And cayenne would work well, too, but maybe not if you're serving it to your kids. I use Greek yogurt because I love it, but plain regular yogurt is fine, too. It makes the chicken very tender, just like soaking chicken in buttermilk is great before you fry it. And since it's a thick marinade and the spices are mixed right in, it sticks to the chicken and you don't leave half of it behind when you cook it.

The yogurt sauce is a fantastic accompaniment! It's got three ingredients, that's it. It couldn't be simpler. But a bit of advice--since it has grated apple in it, please make it at the last minute, so it's still pretty and white! When you take a bite of the chicken and the yogurt sauce together, oh...they're SO good with each other! Like peanut butter and chocolate, or strawberries and cream, or wings and hot sauce--they're two great things on their own, but put them together and they're a perfect match.

So here it is, adapted from Everyday Food. I made a few small changes--they use bone-in breasts, I like boneless thighs, and I double the marinade, which I've noted here in the recipe.

Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt, divided
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoon ground ginger
coarse salt and ground pepper
8 boneless, skinless thighs
2 Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°.
In a bowl or large ziptop bag, mix 1 cup of yogurt (save the rest for the yogurt sauce!), the garlic, turmeric, ginger and 3 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Why do I have 2% and 0% yogurt? I like to use the 0, my husband likes the 2. We compromise. Who knew that Greek yogurt was the secret to a happy marriage???


Add the chicken, making sure to coat it all evenly. Marinate for a couple hours or overnight. (You don't really need to a pic of the chicken marinating, right? Good, because I didn't take one, hehe.)

Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet, lined with foil. Bake until it's 160 degrees or the juices are no longer pink, about 30 minutes. Make the sauce right before or right after you take the chicken out of the oven.

Peel and coarsely grate the apple into a bowl.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and cilantro, mix well. Serve with the chicken.