More Chicken Salads
Creamy Persian Yoghurt Chicken
This Creamy Persian Yoghurt Chicken is all about bold flavour with minimal effort. The chicken is marinated in yoghurt, garlic, and warm Persian-inspired spices, making it incredibly tender and aromatic. A quick pan sear locks in the juices before it’s finished in a creamy, tangy sauce that’s perfect for mopping up with rice or flatbread. It’s rich, fragrant, and comforting, yet light enough for a weeknight dinner that still feels special.
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, halved horizontally
- 170g plain Greek yoghurt
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sumac
- Juice of ½ lemon (about 1–2 tbsp)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 brown onion, finely sliced
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh coriander or parsley, to serve
Instructions
- Place the chicken, yoghurt, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, sumac, turmeric, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3–4 minutes each side or until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan, then add the onion. Cook for 5–6 minutes or until softened and golden.
- Return the chicken to the pan. Stir the chicken stock into the leftover marinade, then pour into the pan. Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is creamy.
- Serve hot over saffron rice, garnished with fresh coriander or parsley.
Notes
- If you’d like a thicker sauce, let it simmer uncovered for the last few minutes.
- This dish also works beautifully with chicken thighs if you prefer darker meat.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated gently the next day – the flavours only get better.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 12gProtein: 23g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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Creamy Persian Yoghurt Chicken
Midweek Meals and Mild Chaos
My Creamy Persian yoghurt chicken came about on a day I was working from home, waiting for the fire alarm testing people to show up. I never like having strangers in the house when I’m not there – not because I think they’ll take anything, but because I’m terrified they’ll accidentally let Lulu out! He’s only escaped once, bolted out the front door, froze in panic, and ran straight back in. He knows the street isn’t for him – he was feral for the first three months of his life and has since decided indoor living is his truth.
Anyway, being home meant I could actually cook something properly for lunch. I needed to re-shoot the photos for my saffron rice recipe, and there was chicken breast and yoghurt hanging about in the fridge. Add a well-stocked spice cupboard, and creamy Persian yoghurt chicken made perfect sense. Rich, indulgent, warmly spiced, and served on that golden bed of rice – a little midday win when I needed it.
Now, this week hadn’t exactly been kind. I’d tried a zero-alcohol gin and tonic on Saturday night (very responsible of me) only to wake up on Sunday with a rash. Turns out I’m allergic to quinine! So I spent the better part of two days itchy, blotchy, and mildly uncomfortable. But the kitchen has always been where I retreat when things feel a bit off. Even when I’m running on minimal energy, I still find myself pottering around, stirring a sauce or chopping onions. It’s not just about food – it’s a form of grounding, a way to feel like myself again. And when it results in something like this yoghurt chicken? Even better.
The Joy of Using What You’ve Got
The real magic in this recipe came from simply needing to use up what I had. That yoghurt? It was approaching its expiration date. The chicken breast? Needed to go. And the spices? Well, those are always in steady supply. As a food blogger, my fridge can get a little chaotic. Half-used herbs, tubs of things I don’t remember buying, leftover bits from shoots. So I try to plan ahead when I can, especially on weekends. I’ll make a base dish that can stretch through the week – a sauce that becomes lunch one day and dinner the next. Pesto on toast, then pasta. You get the idea.
And it’s not just about eating everything myself. I bake? The neighbours get a slice. Make too much of anything? It goes to my bestie. (Especially helpful since he drives me around a lot – fair’s fair.) Some things get taken into work, though I do that sparingly to avoid setting expectations. The point is, I really try not to waste. Not just because it’s practical, but because it pushes me to be more creative. That parsley I bought for who knows what? It found its way into a chimichurri. Nothing gets left behind if I can help it.
So yes, creamy Persian yoghurt chicken was one of those beautiful, low-pressure meals that just worked. Everything about it came together so naturally – the yoghurt marinade, the warm spices, the way the onions melted down into the sauce. It’s the kind of thing you could throw together on a Tuesday but serve proudly on a Saturday. That’s my favourite kind of cooking – casual but clever. Nourishing without the fuss. And always, always satisfying.
Creative Cooking as Self-Care
I’ve realised recently how much cooking has become a space of self-care again. Not in a “light some candles and wear a robe” kind of way – more in that quiet, grounding, get-back-to-myself sort of way. When the world feels a bit loud, the kitchen gives me something to do with my hands and my head. I can switch off the noise and just… chop. Stir. Taste. Adjust. No pressure to be perfect. Just me, in my flow.
It’s easy to lose touch with those routines. Especially when life gets overwhelming, or exhausting, or just plain annoying. Like a mystery rash that derails your entire weekend. But finding my way back to a stove, a saucepan, a fridge that’s running out of yoghurt – it resets something in me. And the best part? At the end of it, I get something comforting to eat. Something that tastes like effort, even if it didn’t take much.
This chicken dish was exactly that. Comforting without being heavy., flavourful without being fussy. Something I made just for me, in my own time, without any expectations or perfectionism creeping in. And in the middle of a rough patch, that felt like a real win. Like I’d fed more than just my appetite – I’d fed a part of me that needed the reminder that I can still do this. That I still love doing this.
Ingredients Breakdown
Chicken breast is ideal here – filleted in half lengthways so it cooks quickly and absorbs all the flavour. I always keep some in the fridge or freezer for exactly this kind of dish. Now, the yoghurt is key – it tenderises the chicken while creating that luscious, slightly tangy base. Full-fat is best as it holds up to heat far better than the low-fat versions, which tend to split and go grainy.
The spices are what give this dish its depth. Cumin and coriander add warmth and body, paprika brings a gentle smokiness, and turmeric adds both colour and a bit of bitterness to balance it all out. Garlic is non-negotiable in my world – and here it adds just the right punch. Thinly sliced brown onion softens into the sauce, adding sweetness and structure. Once it’s all simmered together, the flavour is far more than the sum of its parts.
You’ll want a bit of chicken stock to help the sauce come together – not too much, just enough to loosen it without losing that creamy texture. Olive oil gets the whole thing going in the pan, and of course, salt and pepper bring it all to life. I finish it with a scattering of fresh coriander or parsley, whichever I’ve got nearby. That final bit of green lifts the dish and makes it feel just a little bit fancy. Not bad for a lunch cooked in between emails and mild allergic reactions.
