Lemon yoghurt chicken

I personally love the quick recipes. I mean who doesn't? The fewer the ingredients, and lesser the processing, the more authentic the taste is. Especially the Indian spices overpower the taste of the vegetable or the chicken that is cooked in the gravy. So when there is an opportunity to make simple gravy recipes like Khadi, dal, I just jump on them. This is one such simple easy to cook and yummy recipe. 

I looked up online thinking there must be something simple like the chinese lemon chicken and then came across this Indian version of the same. I decided adapt this recipe for a Sunday lunch. I made coconut milk rice, this lemon yoghurt chicken and rasam and the entire meal was cooked in less than an hour. 

Tangy chicken goes well with fried rice or pulav, while the less spicy rich cashew/coconut based gravies go well with Biryani. So for the coconut milk rice recipe, I decided to pair it with this tangy spicy yoghurt based chicken gravy. 

Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

Chicken (marinated in curd and spices for an hour) - 500g (see note)

Olive oil - 2 tbsp 

Curry leaves - 8-10

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1tsp 

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp 

Crushed Ginger - 1 tsp

Crushed Garlic - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 lemon (approximately 1 tbsp) 

Salt - to taste 

Yoghurt, smooth and beaten - 1 cup 

Note: I used frozen marinated chicken. I buy the chicken, clean it, mix up the spices in the curd marinade and let it sit fo an hour or so on the kitchen top. Then pop it into the freezer for use within the next week or so. 

Method:

Pressure cook the chicken after it has thawed for the usual time.

Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed kadai. When the oil is hot, add the curry leaves. Add the boiled chicken pieces, keeping the stock aside. 

Add the spices (cumin, chilli, coriander, garam masala, ginger, garlic, salt) and let them mix well with the chicken. Add another tbsp of oil. Let the chicken fry until it is aromatic. 

Finally add the chicken stock from the cooker, the beaten yoghurt and blend well. Add lemon juice and mix again. Cover and cook for about 6-7 minutes until the raw smell of the yoghurt dissipates. 

Tangy, thin chicken gravy is ready to serve. 

Verdict: Personally I prefer thin gravies with rice. However this does taste good with roti as well. This just took about 10 minutes to cook and the preparation time was about 15 minutes.