This sweet and spicy Indian chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices and finished with a sweet and sticky maple syrup glaze. It’s outrageously delicious and will easily become your go-to chicken dinner.
A couple of weeks ago I went to the spa for the afternoon with a friend, we left as one always does after a massage and spa day, looking like greased rats.
Now, I’m all for essential oils (actually just ordered my starter kit and am getting into this whole oil thing!) and I do love a good rub down (um, who doesn’t?) but when they get all up in your head and neck area there’s just no avoiding the fact that you’re going to leave the place looking like you either took a grease shower or spent the whole day in bed with sex hair.
Don’t act like you don’t know what that looks like.
So, we emerge back into the real world in this greased state and although no one should ever be seen in public in a condition such as we were in, we decided we needed food.
Like asap too because instead of eating lunch we got pampered all afternoon and our stomachs were making obscene noises.
The options were Thai, BBQ or Indian and we went with Indian because I couldn’t even remember the last time I had Indian food not from the frozen food aisle of Trader Joes.
An hour later (gotta love how fast an Indian joint is), we walked back out into the cold now as greased rats who smelled like curry from head to toe.
Quite the sight (and smell).
While I drove home as fast as possible, the shower calling my name, I decided Indian food needed to be recreated, specially some Indian chicken.
There’s no reason to leave it up to Trader Joes chana masala when getting the flavors of Indian food is no more difficult than raiding your spice cabinet.
A little garam masala and curry powder go a long way when it comes to Indian chicken recipes.
I could go on and on about how freakin’ delicious this Indian chicken dish is but I think it says it all when I say that between Ulysses and I, we polished off the entire 1.5 pounds of it for LUNCH.
Not even dinner, lunch. We actually did the same with this chicken saag recipe so maybe there’s just something about us and Indian food for lunch?
It’s just amazingly spicy, sweet and sticky and I guarantee if you make it, it’ll become your new go-to chicken recipe for eternity.
I realize that’s a bold statement so I’ll throw another recipe out there that might challenge it – maple miso chicken. Try them both and decide for yourself!
Just beware, your house will smell like curry. It’s inevitable. Embrace it and maybe throw in some greased hair for the full effect.
It’s reminiscent of my favorite Thai chicken just with a little Indian flare. Serve it with some rice and a vegetable for a simple meal. I recommend this curry cauliflower rice which pairs really nicely with the Indian spices of the chicken.
Indian food has always been one of my favorite cuisines thanks to all the delicious spices used.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a drier tandoori dish, a sticky sweet and spicy dish like this Indian chicken, a saucy tomato base like butter chicken or one of my all time favorites, lamb korma, I’ll take them all!
Love this sweet and spicy Indian chicken recipe?
Try these recipes: Indian Chicken Burgers with Yogurt Cucumber Slaw and Indian Yogurt Steak Kabobs.
Sweet and Spicy Indian Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon roasted red chili paste, *you can omit if you don’t have and just use an additional tablespoon of the red curry paste instead
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
For the glaze
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
Instructions
- Combine the yogurt, all the spices including the curry and chili paste and the lemon juice in a small bowl and mix together with a spoon.
- Place the chicken in a large baking dish and coat in the yogurt mixture. You can let the chicken marinate like this for up to 8 hours if you’d like or you can cook it right away.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high.
- Add the coconut oil. Once melted and hot, add the chicken to the skillet.
- Cook 5-7 minutes on one side until golden brown then flip and cook another 3 minutes on the other side until the chicken is cooked through.
- Whisk the maple syrup and lemon juice for the glaze together in a small bowl and add to the skillet with the chicken.
- Cook down 1-2 minutes until bubbly and starting to reduce. Flip the chicken a few times in the glaze to coat. Turn off the heat and serve.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with a yogurt, cilantro, lemon juice mixture if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Could i use fish instead of chicken
Sure, the flavors would work on fish too. Cooking time would obviously have to be altered depending on type of fish.
Tired of boring chicken recipes .WOWZER
This is a go-to staple in our house, but I’ve tweaked it a little bit: when I tried to fry the chicken over medium-high heat, I just ended up burning the yogurt marinade, leaving the chicken still semi-raw inside. Instead, I now either sautee the chicken for a minute on each side in the coconut oil and then bake it in the oven for 35 minutes, or, more often, simply bake it in the oven for 45 minutes at 375 F (with greased foil on the baking sheets to make cleanup easier). Then, I glaze it in the pan with the maple syrup/lemon juice as per the recipe. We serve it with rice and a yogurt/dill/garlic sauce. It’s *so delicious* and takes so little time to make. Thanks very much for the recipe, Gina!
So glad to hear it! :)
I made this last night using chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. It was incredibly good. I only made a small amount in case I didn’t like it. (Didn’t want to waste my expensive organic chicken breasts.) I’ll definitely be making a large batch tonight. This will be in my rotation as a go-to recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I want to make……roommates don’t like curry/smell…..I may have angry roommates soon.
omg.. I-WANT-THAT-RIGHT-NOW.. looks absolutely amazing and fantastic photos of the chicken.. simply loving it