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I’m so excited to bring you another recipe post today, because this one totally fits the bill on my food philosophy. It’s a simple recipe, full of real food ingredients, and it is LOADED with flavor! I hate that people think that real food is boring and bland, because it’s actually the most delicious!
I whipped this up on a weekday, when things just weren’t going as planned. Landon was a little sick and a cough was making it hard to nap, so we ended up just spending more time cuddling and less time “getting things done” during nap time. But hey, I’m getting a little better at being okay with this. (Read about how I’m trying to “banish busy” here.)
Anyway, all that to say, this is a great dish to whip up when you don’t have a lot of time or energy. Yes, it takes a bit of time to cook, but you can do something else while it cooks (like, drink a glass of wine!).
This recipe is adapted from Gwenyth Paltrow’s cookbook, It’s All Easy. I highly recommend it! Not only is it just beautiful, but the recipes are great! I think I’ve enjoyed every single one that I’ve made. In fact, I served this chicken with her ginger carrot soup recipe from the same cookbook. It made for a nice, warm, and comforting (yet still nutrient dense) Fall dinner!
This chicken would taste great served over rice as well, but right now I’m trying to (mostly) avoid grains as my thyroid hasn’t been super happy lately. But, if you can tolerate that, make yourself a pot of Basmati rice while the chicken cooks and throw a salad together. Or, just throw some spinach on the plate next to the chicken and call it dinner! Whatever you do, just try this recipe!
A few notes…
- I love chicken thighs in this recipe because they are so moist! (Plus, the fat in chicken thighs is good for you and increases satiety! But hey, masses of people who still think saturated fat causes high cholesterol…you keep thinking that. You’re keeping my grocery costs lower!) All that to say, I think chicken breasts would work just fine in this recipe as well, but I would opt for thighs!
- Don’t stress if you don’t have goat’s milk kefir. It’s what I had on hand, because I am, well, crunchy and also because I don’t tolerate dairy terribly well. You could certainly use coconut milk (full fat, please!) or whole milk plain yogurt.
- If you don’t have garam masala or tandoori spice on hand, buy some! I’ll see that you use it again. Even if that just means you make this recipe a gajillion times because it is that easy and delicious.
- You don’t have to marinade the chicken. You could just mix it all up and throw it in the pan, but if you can marinade it, please do! I think I marinaded mine for about two hours, but I bet it would work great to even whip this up the night before and let it marinade all day. Oh the flavor…
- Keep in mind that cooking times will vary depending on the type of pan that you use and whether or not you’re pulling the chicken cold out of the fridge or using room temperature chicken. Check for doneness with a meat thermometer. You want the internal temperature to reach 165 degrees.
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- 1 T. tomato paste
- ¼ cup goat's milk kefir
- 1 t. garam masala
- 1 t. tandoori spice
- 1 t. salt
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Mince the garlic. Peel the ginger root with a vegetable peeler. Then grate it with a box grater (or just mince it finely).
- Put all the ingredients except for the chicken into a gallon size plastic bag and squish it all around to combine.
- Throw the chicken thighs into the bag with the marinade and refrigerate for as long as you can (30 minutes or 24 hours or skip this step entirely).
- When you're ready for deliciousness, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil.
- Toss the chicken and marinade into the pan and throw it in the oven for 30 minutes or so. (Check after 20 minutes. The type of baking dish can affect cook times.) Cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
I made this last week for my family and it got rave reviews. We love Indian food and have tasted many Tikka Masala offerings from Indian restaurants. This rates with the best of them and it’s so easy!
Hooray! Thanks for giving it a try. 🙂