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Saffron Yogurt and Garlic Marinated Chicken Breast

When chicken breast gets boring…this is my solution! A succulent and savory chicken breast marinated in yogurt, saffron and garlic. Tons of deliciousness wrapped up in one marinated chicken breast!

When chicken breast gets boring...this is my solution! A succulent and savory chicken breast marinated in yogurt, saffron and garlic. Tons of deliciousness wrapped up in one marinated chicken breast!

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Every Sunday morning, I sit down in front of my steaming cappuccino and plan my menu for the week. Ā It’s a piece of my week that I look forward to. Ā Typically, I’m overwhelmed with ideas thanks to my daily Facebook feed of bloggers who I follow. Ā But every once in awhile I get stumped… and it is typically when I get to the word chicken.

Chicken breasts unfortunately can get quite blah after awhile. Ā Plus considering it is the only animal protein (other than fish and eggs) that I allow in the house, I have to be creative!

On one of those Sunday mornings, I chose to sip my cappuccino in front of the television as I watched a riveting episode of the Shahs of Sunset. Ā A personal favorite guilty pleasure of mine. Ā It just so happened that in the latest installment of the Shahs, they were sitting around an ornately decorated table in the reunion special. Ā And as they threw one jab after another at each other, I was distracted by the gorgeous food on the table. Ā Yellow rice, grilled meats, yogurt sauce. Ā This all reminded me how very much I love Persian cuisine.

When chicken breast gets boring...this is my solution! A succulent and savory chicken breast marinated in yogurt, saffron and garlic. Tons of deliciousness wrapped up in one marinated chicken breast!

In the summer I frequently grill up chicken tawookĀ very similar to Azita’s joojeh kebob. Ā The yogurt gives the chicken a perfectly delicate texture and a slightly tangy flavor. Ā It’s fantastic on the grill.

But of course I found a way to improve this.

I used a yogurt marinade along with lots of garlic, onions, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Ā I also added some gorgeous saffron that give this dish its distinct yellow color.

Saffron is really pricey, but fortunately you will only need a few threads. Ā And Costco recently started carrying it for a nice price.

Saffron Chicken girl and the kitchen

Before adding the saffron to the chicken, you have to steep it like a tea in hot water. Ā It will start to release it’s beautiful golden color. You can definitely add more than I have…this is just sad looking.

IF you cannot find saffron. Ā You can cheat and add some turmeric to the mix instead to give it a nice color. Ā 1tbsp or so will do.

Saffron Chicken girl and the kitchen

Once you have your saffron “tea”. Ā You add the liquid to your yogurt, garlic, onions, cilantro and lemon juice. Ā Don’t forget the salt and pepper. Ā Then just grind it all up in a Vitamix or a food processor. Ā Pour into a ziplock bag on top of some pieces of chicken breast. Ā I usually let it marinade overnight but at the very least let it marinade for an hour.

In the summers this is perfect over a hot grill. Ā In the winter, I pan fry this up on each side in a bit of butter and olive oil. Ā The butter will give it a super luxurious brown crust and an amazing flavor. Ā You can then finish it up in a hot 450-degree oven for 10 minutes or finish them up by pan frying.

When chicken breast gets boring...this is my solution! A succulent and savory chicken breast marinated in yogurt, saffron and garlic. Tons of deliciousness wrapped up in one marinated chicken breast!

Either way this will be delicious. Ā And I promise it will be a go to for any quick dinner. Ā It’s great over rice, or some nice simple veggies. Ā I love tossing Persian cucumbers with some radishes, cilantro and olive oil and lemon then adding some red chili flakes to it. Ā It’s just perfection!

Just a fair warning! Ā It is super garlicky though. Ā However, the mix of the garlic and yogurt and butter somehow make the garlic mellow and sweet.

Just an FYI. Ā There is sometimes an enzyme reaction that will cause your garlic to turn blue or green. Ā The sulfur in the onions and garlic willĀ react in an acid environment with natural amino acids to form the harmless colored blue and green pigments. Ā While it may be alarming it is perfectly harmless.

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Saffron, Garlic and Yogurt Marinated Chicken-2

Saffron Yogurt and Garlic Marinated Chicken


  • Author: Mila Furman
  • Yield: 4 people 1x

Description

When chicken breast gets boring…this is my solution! A succulent and savory chicken breast marinated in yogurt, saffron and garlic. Tons of deliciousness wrapped up in one marinated chicken breast!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pounds chicken breast (cut in half so they are thinner. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs but use 3 pounds)
  • 1.5 cups yogurt
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 1 large onion peeled and cut in half
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 8 threads of saffron steeped in a 1/4 cup of water or 1 tbsp of turmeric
  • a handful of cilantro
  • juice of one lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • more olive oil for frying

Instructions

  1. Place yogurt, water, garlic, onion, saffron or turmeric, cilantro and lemon into a blender or a food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and add as necessary.
  2. Place chicken cutlets into a ziplock bag and add yogurt mixture on top.
  3. Close the bag and swish the mixture around so everything is evenly covered. Let stand for 60 minutes to 24 hours.
  4. Place butter and olive oil into a pan, ensuring that the butter melts.
  5. Over medium heat, fry the chicken on one side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. At this point, you can either turn the chicken over and cook on the other side or place into a 450-degree oven for 5 minutes.
  7. **If grilling, cut the chicken into large cubes and marinade. Then place on skewers and allow for it to grill for 6 minutes on each on a high flame. **
  • Category: Chicken
  • Cuisine: Persian

 

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When chicken breast gets boring...this is my solution! A succulent and savory chicken breast marinated in yogurt, saffron and garlic. Tons of deliciousness wrapped up in one marinated chicken breast!

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24 Comments

  1. This looks awesome!
    I didn’t know that about steeping saffron before using it. Are you always supposed to do that or just with this recipe? I’ve only used it once before but hate to think that I wasted it because it was super pricey!

    1. You should always steep it. You extract more flavor from it that way! Again if you can’t afford it, just use turmeric šŸ™‚ no one will know the difference!

    1. Awww thank you honey!! I really love this dish! And that butter…it does something magical to the chicken šŸ™‚

  2. I absolutely love this recipe! I used to marinate chicken breasts in buttermilk and liked it, but this is exceptional! Looks beautiful, very tasty. I got saffron at Costco (as you suggested), before I bought it at Trader’s Joe, but Costco has bigger jar. Actually I am thinking to order it on Amazon, probably will be cheaper.
    Anyways, since I make chicken breasts chops very often this will be my favorite recipe!
    Thank you!
    Irina

    1. Irina! So glad you loved it!!! Thank you so much for the warm comments…and nowadays I get almost EVERYTHING on amazon:)

  3. Bring on the garlic! This dish looks super delicious, Mila! And I’m all about a yogurt marinade! Stunning girl! Btw, I love planning the week out too – it’s like my creative writing day šŸ™‚

  4. Blue and green garlic? Cool!!

    Sounds like a delicious way to cook chicken for something a bit different, Mila. I lived in Greece for years where they sell saffron everywhere, but I never actually cooked with it. Silly me! I’ll definitely have to give this a try – love the idea of marinating in yoghurt!

  5. What is the side dish (salad) that is in the photos, it looks so delicious next to the chicken?!

    1. hi Mina!!! It was actually just some sliced up cucumbers with radishes tossed in some olive oil šŸ™‚ Nothing fancy. Just fresh and good šŸ™‚

      1. Thank you Mila! I’m really excited, I am going to make a variation of this dish tonight, should come out good šŸ˜€

    1. Hi Ann, did the yogurt look like it curdled after cooking or before? If after that actually is normal as it is just the result of the heat process.

      1. Thanks for getting back to me….I was going to try this recipe again tonight. I put the marinaded chicken in the oven to cook ( I didn’t fry it first) and that is when I noticed the marinade looked like it had curdled. I think I will fry it first and then finish it in the oven….???

  6. Hi my third time using this recipe because someone gave me saffron and I had to promise a recipe!

    This is great and not just the typical use of saffron. I did cheat and used shallot instead of onion.

    Just a question because I am doing this for company this weekend, how many is it supposed to serve?

    I am guessing four.

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Susan!! What a wonderful comment!!! I use shallots frequently as well šŸ™‚ Not cheating at all! I just made this chicken last week for a few of the clients I private chef for and they LOVED it!!!! And yes it absolutely is for 4 people, although it can so easily feed 2 hungry ones šŸ™‚ Also, if you loved this chicken, check out the Persian Chicken Noodle Soup…you will be obsessed!

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