Tandoori Chicken

Hi everyone!  How has your week been?  It's Friday, which means the weekend is tomorrow!  And if you're in need of a creative grilling recipe for this weekend's grill-out, look no further!

Let's face it:  one of the greatest fear looming at the back of the mind of the home cook is the prospect of dry, flavorless grilled chicken breasts.  This is a valid fear, considering that chicken breasts are low in fat compared to other cuts of meat, which makes them extra susceptible to becoming dry blobs of despair.  However, don't be afraid, fellow cooks!  This grilled chicken recipe guarantees juicy, flavorful chicken breasts if you follow it!

Allow me to walk you through a couple of aspects of today's recipe that will forever assuage your fears of cooking crusty, bland chicken breasts ever again.

1.   Yogurt

At first blush, it might seem odd to marinate chicken breasts in yogurt before a quick stint on the grill.  After all, isn't yogurt meant to be put in baked goods or to eat for breakfast or to dollop on top of stew?  True, yogurt does have all of these uses, but it is perfectly suitable for the grill.  Think about it-  in lightened-up recipes, the primary use of yogurt is to keep dishes moist, without adding a superfluous amount of fat.  (Think these muffins.)  And although the grill is obviously a different cooking environment than the oven, when yogurt is added to the marinade of meats that will be grilled, it keeps them moist, just as it would a muffin batter.

2.  Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

First of all, just let me nerd out for a second and say how proud of myself I am right now because I just found an excuse to use the strikethrough in a blog post 🤓😂.  But seriously, the trick to keeping chicken breasts flavorful is adding flavor bombs (not sugar) because they really do make everything nice!  Indian cuisine is chockful of these zesty add-ins.  In this recipe, some of these boosters include spicy ginger, fiery garlic, warm cinnamon, and earthy cumin.  Oh, and don't forget to add an adequate amount of salt to accentuate all of these tasty flavors 😋!

This chicken is the excellent base for your healthy summertime meals; just serve with some steamed broccoli, dahl, and toasted whole wheat naan.

Today's recipe comes from this website.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!  I look forward to posting again on Monday 😊!

Tandoori Chicken

• 2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
• 1 T. fresh ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. coriander seed, crushed
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 3 lbs. chicken breasts

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients.

2.  Add the chicken breasts into a baking dish, then pour the marinade over the chicken.

3.  Marinate in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.

4.  Grill the marinated chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

5.  Enjoy, storing leftover in the fridge for up to 3 days.