Chicken with Yogurt/Spice Sauce

“I think I need more yogurt in my diet,” said George. We all do and the idea of chicken braised in yogurt appealed to me. I also found a recipe for Rice Pilaf with Almonds and Raisins in Madhur Jaffrery’s “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey”s cookbook and liked the almonds/raisin/rice combination.

Menu

Chicken with Yogurt/Spice Sauce
Rice Pilaf with Almonds and Raisins
Baked Spinach
Wine: Les Bosquets Vouvray Sauvion, 2009
Dessert: Afrika Cookies

Recipe Chicken

½ large chicken breast, with skin and bone, cut into four pieces
Flour for dusting
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon clarified butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala (store-bought)
1 cup plain yogurt
Lemon juice if desired
Chopped mint or parsley for garnish

Dust the chicken lightly with flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat a casserole to medium-high, add butter and sauté chicken to brown. Remove the chicken; cover to keep warm.

Raise heat and add olive oil to the casserole. Sauté onions till translucent. Then add the garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the spices and the yogurt. Lower heat and warm through. Add chicken to the yogurt-spice mixture, cover. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with chopped mint or parsley.

The chicken dish came out nicely. It was rather spicy, but the yogurt tempered it.

The less said about the rice pilaf, the better. In fact, it was a gummy disaster. Fortunately, I always serve excellent bread with our dinner, so all wasn’t lost. The Vouvray was a delight.