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I wanted to make something relatively quick for dinner tonight. This recipe looked promising - a quick marinade in a spiced yogurt, then throw it on the grill. It was easy and definitely fit the bill for tonight, but didn't have as much flavor as I had hoped. I'm a sucker for yogurt and cucumbers together, and it was a nice side, but again, nothing that really wowed us. On the plus side, my toddler really enjoyed this. This definitely has potential, but I think it needs some garlic or something else to make it really shine. I served it with lemon wedges, and we squeezed them over the meat before diving in, which helped it out a lot. I didn't fire up the outdoor grill, but opted to use my cast iron grill pan instead, and it worked out great.
Grilled Yogurt Chicken with Cucumber Salad
Sunset April 2010
Yield: Serves 4
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (about 1 ½ lbs.)
1 ¼ cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
About ¾ tsp. kosher salt
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
About 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 English cucumber, cut into ¼-in. dice
2 tablespoons minced shallot (1 medium)
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Trim any fat and remove the tender from each breast (reserve for another use). Working 2 at a time, arrange chicken between layers of plastic wrap. With a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound meat to an even thickness of ¼ in.
2. Prepare a grill for direct high heat (about 500°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 2 to 3 seconds). If using charcoal, spread half-lit coals in firegrate, top with cooking grate to preheat, and let heat build to high.
3. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, cumin, lemon juice, ¾ tsp. salt, the chile flakes, and turmeric. Set aside ½ cup yogurt mixture. Add chicken to bowl, flip to coat on both sides, and let sit at room temperature 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, wiping off excess marinade; rub lightly with oil on both sides.
4. Using metal tongs, wipe cooking grate with oiled paper towels. Grill chicken, covered, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn over, cover, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a clean plate and season with salt.
5. In a serving bowl, combine cucumber, shallot, mint, reserved ½ cup yogurt mixture, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with cucumber salad.
Amount per serving
Calories: 245
Calories from fat: 22%
Protein: 39g
Fat: 6.3g
Saturated fat: 1.9g
Carbohydrate: 6.2g
Fiber: 1.1g
Sodium: 383mg
Cholesterol: 98mg
Big Flavors Rating: 3 Stars
Pam
This is a great recipe that I will be trying. I love the mix of flavors in it. I'm glad to find your blog and will be looking around now. By the way, your orange plate is awesome!
Ashley
Thanks so much! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
sf
Just an FYI to let you know that for some reason Pinterest doesn't recognize your images as valid today - even when using the Pin It button provided on your page. It might have something to do with the file extension.
Ashley
Thanks for letting me know. I've been having that problem lately when using Chrome, but it worked fine in Firefox. I thought it was just me. I haven't changed the file types or anything, so it must be a bug. I'll have tech support (my husband, ha!) look into it.
Lindy
I love recipes that are easy and low-fat. I make a lot of them myself. And I can see how this one might not "wow" you. Why do they make low fat low flavor? You could add a lot more "spice" to this to make it more interesting without changing the fat or calories. Ginger, coriander and a touch of cayenne come to mind right away...
Great idea for improvement!