Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan

This Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan is a unique dish with Indian inspiration!

I created this recipe as a way to use up some extra yogurt I had in the fridge. I decided I wanted to make chicken, so marinating it in yogurt before barbequing it on high heat was the natural choice. I was inspired by Tandoor style Indian chicken and chose to serve this beautiful chicken on naan instead of pita to compliment the South Asian inspired flavours in this meal. This blog is called Cooking With Carbs for a reason. I love carbs, and good bread is ones of my favourite things. Naan is a beautiful flatbread often served alongside South Asian curries. It’s tender and soft while still having some chew, making it the perfect base for tender chicken. This recipe turned out even better than I had hoped: a delicious, savoury flatbread with a complex flavour profile.

This satisfying meal combines beautiful marinated chicken and soft pillowy naan bread. After marinating in the fridge, the chicken takes on a lovely tang from the yogurt, lime juice, and spices. This juicy flavourful interior is perfectly contrasted by the char from the barbecue. The crisp pickled onion adds some crunch to the tender chicken and naan, while the bright cilantro lime yogurt sauce brings it all together with a pinch of heat. This Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan is bright, fresh, and sumptuous, and if the chicken is marinated in advance this beautiful meal easily comes together in under twenty minutes.

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 10 minutes
• Cooking Time – 7 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating time
• Total Time – 1 hour 17 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR YOGURT MARINATED CHICKEN NAAN

All the ingredients for this Chicken Naan are easy to source from any local grocer.

Chicken

• 1/2 cup Yogurt, plain
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 Lime
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 lb Chicken breasts, boneless skinless
• 4 pieces naan

Yogurt Sauce

• 2 tbsp Yogurt, plain
• 1 tbp Lime juice
• 1 tbsp Cilantro, diced
• 1 pinch Kosher salt
• 1 pinch Chili flakes

Quick Pickled Onions

• 1/2 Vidalia onion
• 1 Lemon

CAN I MAKE THIS LACTOSE FREE?

Absolutely! Simply substitute lactose free yogurt on a one to on basis.

CAN I MAKE THIS WITHOUT A BARBECUE?

If you don’t have a barbecue you can make this on the stove top in a heavy bottomed pan. You won’t get the same charred flavour that you get from a barbecue, but it will still taste delicious. I would suggest cooking the chicken on medium high to get a similar finish.

WHAT KIND OF YOGURT SHOULD I BUY?

There are many kinds of yogurt. For this recipe I used plain 2 % yogurt. If you’d like, you could use plain Greek yogurt for added protein. If you wish, you can also use 1 % or skim milk yogurt, but you will not get the same richness of flavour in your chicken or sauce. It’s also worth noting that some research shows that non fat dairy is not necessarily the healthier choice.

IS PITA THE SAME AS NAAN BREAD?

No. Although both are flatbreads, both the taste and texture are different. Pita is a beautiful flatbread prepared with flour, yeast, salt, water and oil and baked in an oven. Naan often has the additional ingredient of yogurt which gives it a rich, tangy flavour. Naan is also baked in an extremely hot tandoor oven (a cylindrical clay oven) where it is stuck to the wall to cook resulting in delicious blistered outer shell.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I SUBSTITUTE ANOTHER MEAT FOR CHICKEN?

This recipe would be delicious with turkey breast or shrimp as an alternative to chicken.

CAN I MAKE THIS VEGETARIAN?

If you’d like to make this delicious flatbread vegetarian, I’d suggest preparing a firm tofu in the exact same way as the chicken in this recipe.

CAN I USE PITA INSTEAD OF NAAN?

If you’d prefer to use pita you certainly can, however it will change the taste of the dish. Naan has a rich flavour with a slight char from the tandoor, while pita has a lighter flavour with less substance.

CAN I USE PREPACKAGED LEMON OR LIME JUICE INSTEAD OF FRESH FRUIT?

Prepackaged lemon and lime juice have their uses, but I don’t tend to buy them. They won’t ruin this recipe, but they would affect the taste. This recipe relies heavily on the fresh lemon and lime flavour so I would suggest using them if at all possible.

EQUIPMENT FOR YOGURT MARINATED CHICKEN NAAN

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Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make this delicious Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan:

• Barbecue

• Tongs

• Kitchen Knife – Zwilling J.A. Henkel Kitchen Knife a good kitchen knife is a necessary tool for any home cook. Quality and price point varies widely. This is what I use at home. It’s a perfectly decent knife, while still being very affordable.

• Cutting Board

• 2 Bowls

COOKING DIRECTIONS

This Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan is as simple to prepare as it is delicious, provided you follow a few rules:

1. Marinate your chicken for at least one hour to ensure lots of flavour.
2. Use fresh lemon and lime juice.
3. Keep an eye on your chicken: it cooks fast!

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

You can marinate your chicken several hours in advance if you’d like to save time when you cook this meal.

This Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan can’t be stored and saved for later, but any extra pickled onion can be stored for up to four days covered in the fridge.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy your amazing Yogurt Marinated Chicken Naan!

OTHER CHICKEN DISHES

Moroccan Sweet and Savory Chicken Pita

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Roasted Chicken with Mushroom Farfel

Apricot Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken and Bacon Orzo with Mushrooms

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment and rating below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cooking.with.carbs.

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