Yoghurt Braised Chicken with Chickpea Salad

This Yoghurt Braised Chicken with Chickpea Salad is a mild dish made rich with the addition of spices like cumin, turmeric, coriander, and paprika, and cooked in a flavourful yoghurt sauce. It is served with a fresh chickpea salad and fresh Lebanese bread.

Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

Chicken:

8 chicken drumsticks, pat dried (I use The Bare Bird)

500ml chicken stock/ broth

200g Natural yoghurt or dairy-free yoghurt

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

3cm piece ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1.5 teaspoons ground coriander

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

Generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Lemon Wedges

Chickpea Salad:

400g can organic chickpeas

1 cup mint and parsley, finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

Garlic Yoghurt Sauce:

500g Greek yoghurt or dairy-free Greek Yoghurt

4 garlic cloves, minced

Zest of 1 whole large lemon

Sea salt and pepper

To Serve:

1 red onion, finely sliced

Lebanese bread (gluten-free Lebanese Bread is offered by Old Time Bakery and available in most supermarkets - otherwise traditional bread or homemade naan can also work)

METHOD:

1. Generously season the chicken drumsticks with sea salt and pepper. In a wide-based pot, fry chicken on all sides until golden.

2. Add to the chicken, the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and paprika and stir for a further minute until the spices are fragrant, then add the yogurt. Stir to combine well and season with sea salt and pepper.

3. Pour in the chicken stock – enough that the chicken is mostly submerged. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, with lid half covering the pot. The yoghurt will look curdled when cooking – this is normal. Stir once half way through and turn over the chicken drumsticks.

4. In the meantime, make the garlic yogurt sauce by adding to a bowl the ingredients. Mix to combine well, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

5. Drain the chickpeas, and combine them with herbs, olive oil, and seasoning. Set aside.

6. Divide garlic yoghurt sauce between 4 plates, top with the chicken, and drizzle over some of the braising sauce. Finally, scatter a few tablespoons of the chickpea salad over the chicken and yogurt and serve with wedges of lemon, slices of onion, and Lebanese bread.

Suggestion:

Slice Lebanese bread in half and spread some garlic yoghurt sauce onto it. Then top it with a few chunks of chicken, a couple of tablespoons of chickpea salad, and a drizzle of the chicken sauce. Roll up and enjoy.