Fast, Easy, Satisfying: Indian Chicken

August 25, 2010

This is one of my favorite fast dinners; the most time-consuming part is pulling the skin off the chicken legs, and you can do that in about a minute. The yogurt tenderizes the meat, making it incredibly silky, and the spices penetrate it, making it sing with flavor. The high-heat of the oven gives it a few charred spots, which makes the chicken even tastier.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Pull the skin off 6 whole chicken legs (or a dozen thighs if you prefer).

Chop up a handful of mint and another one of cilantro, and stir them into a cup of whole-milk yogurt, along with a few good dollops of bottled vindaloo paste and some salt and pepper. If you like your food really hot, shake in some ground chile flakes too. Slather the chicken all over with this mixture, put it onto a foil-lined baking pan and roast for about half an hour.

Wonderful finger food – and terrific cold the next day.

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7 Comments

  • This recipe also works really well if you use a chicken breast and skewer it through with lemon Grass. I cook it on the BBQ and serve with a slice of lime and a yogurt dip made with mint, honey and a teaspoon of curry powder. .. you can then make it into a superb sandwich filling by chopping it up and adding mayo on to a crust roll the following day.
    Great recipe thank you Ruth !

  • Nuccia70 says:

    Thanks for this recipe. I have always wanted to try my hand at Indian food and this looks like a good recipe to start with!

  • Made it for dinner tonight. Awesome! Thank you Ruth.

  • Vindaloo paste: never had it, gotta try it.
    sounds like a party in a word!

  • Debra Ponte says:

    I have been making this for years. I saw Ruth making it on her TV show, made it the next day. I serve w/rice and a green veg and water and a nice wine. It is so so good, beyond!I mix Greek yogurt w/Vindaloo and chopped Mint herb, smear it all over the chicken and place it in refrigerator for at least 1/2 hr and I do overnight at times.
    Try it, i make at least 1x per month yr round!

  • Daniel J Pollak says:

    Very good, very easy. I don’t know if it’s necessary, but I do marinate the chicken in the mixture for a couple hours. I’ve made this with both vindaloo paste and vindaloo simmer sauce (with the simmer sauce, I used the whole jar, with the vindaloo paste I used 4 tbsp).

  • Debra Ponte says:

    I wish Ruth would have a TV show on a Sunday afternoon/early eve. Recipes, eating out at various Restaurants, ideas on life, Creativity, setting up a Pantry maybe Garden ideas. I hate to see that Ruth is out of sight for us Foodies/Writers. COME BACK! Miss her on TV and in Magazine. I have read her books. Here from Nantucket Island.

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