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Bon Appétit

Garlic-Ginger Chicken With Cilantro and Mint

4.7

(78)

Garlic Ginger Chicken platter
Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova

Both the marinade and the cooking method (low and sort of slow) have a huge payoff: Charred, spicy, juicy chicken that is equally wonderful by itself or rolled up in a roti, taco-style, and served with various salads and chutneys.

Excerpted from Indian-ish© 2019 by Priya Krishna with Ritu Krishna. Photography © 2019 by Mackenzie Kelley. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

8

garlic cloves, finely chopped

3

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

2

Tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger

3

Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1

Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

1

Tbsp. finely chopped mint leaves, plus more for garnish

1

Tbsp. ground coriander (freshly ground is best)

1

tsp. amchur (dry mango powder)

1

tsp. ground turmeric

¾

tsp. kosher salt

½

tsp. red chili powder

4

skinless, boneless chicken breasts (½–¾ lb. each)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mix garlic, lemon juice, ginger, 3 Tbsp. oil, 1 Tbsp. cilantro, and 1 Tbsp. mint in a medium bowl to form a paste.

    Step 2

    Mix coriander, amchur, turmeric, salt, and chili powder in a small bowl. Add spice mixture to garlic-ginger paste and stir well to combine. Transfer marinade to a large resealable bag.

    Step 3

    Place chicken breasts in marinade and seal bag tightly. Using your hands, gently massage marinade onto chicken, making sure to evenly coat each breast. Chill 2 hours.

    Step 4

    Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Once pan is quite hot, add remaining 1 tsp. oil, swirling pan to coat the entire surface. Reduce heat to medium. Remove chicken from marinade and cook, undisturbed, until lightly golden on one side, 1–2 minutes. Flip chicken and continue to cook until golden brown on the other side, 1–2 more minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook (without peeking!) 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken sit, covered, 10–15 minutes, depending on thickness of the breasts. Don’t uncover, or you’ll release the hot steam that cooks the chicken.

    Step 5

    Check to make sure the breasts are cooked through—there shouldn't be any pink in the middle, and if you have an instant-read thermometer, the chicken should register 165°. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and slice into strips. Transfer to a platter. Garnish with cilantro and mint.

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Reviews (78)

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  • I love this recipe. I had to grab a bag of freeze dried mango and crush it for the Anchu. I used skinless breasts and crushed my spices. The flavors were perfect and the chicken was flavorful and tender. I decided to mix it up a little with stir fried veggies with a touch of pad tai sauce and rice noodles Almost licked the plate..

    • Bruce

    • Washington, DC

    • 11/21/2021

  • This is a great recipe. Very easy to make. I don't ever cook with salt and this recipe's taste is so delicious without it. I will make this again and again. I love this.

    • Maggie Kingsford

    • Northern Ontario, Canada

    • 8/14/2021

  • Made this for my family including two 8 year olds. I had to skip the pepper bc kiddos and could not find amchur powder at my local asian grocer. That said this is my first attempt at making anything Indian and was feeling intimidated haha. But easy recipe and well written. My Indian friend told me not to worry about that amchur that the lemon juice was plenty for acidity as the amchur imparts even more sour taste and this chicken did not need it and I see now that the comments talk a lot about high acidity. So consider leaving out the amchur. It's made from green mangoes not ripe mangoes. Also my son says it was 'bland' so I will maybe up the salt and consider ways to add some depth to the flavors here. Maybe marinade longer than 2 hours. Will be nice for a summer meal though and I enjoyed it! Sauce is lovely!

    • Natalie M.

    • Silver Spring, Md

    • 5/21/2021

  • Absolutely delicious! Added some lemongrass to the marinade too. Definitely acidic, but we paired it with some curried lentils and the flavors mixed wonderfully. A great technique for chicken breast!

    • Darby

    • Monaco

    • 4/18/2021

  • I used boneless skinless thighs as well and it kind of left it with a dry texture but looked moist; hard to describe. I also think I didn’t add enough salt because it had all the flavor elements but was not flavorful somehow? I’ll try again with breasts next time

    • Bobber

    • Calgary

    • 3/24/2021

  • This is pretty much the same as Hariyali chicken, no? Except that it's lacking the dried fenugreek (methi) leaves.

    • Donald

    • Nice, France

    • 2/20/2021

  • Made as written and served with coconut rice and pineapple salsa -incredible! Thanks Priya.

    • Anonymous

    • 1/7/2021