Chicken Madras and Dairy Free Yogurt Sauce

This chicken madras is the perfect fall or winter dish, as it’s got a warming and yet somewhat spicy flavor, but not too spicy. It’s the perfect fall or cold weather dish to warm your insides. Leftovers taste great, so don’t be afraid to make a larger batch of this too. 

You really have to  pair this chicken with my oven baked black forbidden rice and sautéed broccoli and shallots, as the flavor combination is pure perfection. 

Chicken Madras and Dairy Free Yogurt Sauce

recipe adapted from Feed Zone Table

serves 6

• 1 small yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced, then chopped
• 2 cups (or 1 pint) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, you could also use 1-2  large tomatoes, sliced thin
• 1 portobello mushroom, stem removed, sliced thin and then chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup)  Madras curry powder, you can find this spice at most grocery stores, but make sure it’s the Madras curry powder, not regular curry powder
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 5-6 bone-in skin on chicken thighs, or combination of thighs and breasts – we used 4 thighs and 2 breasts 
• 1 lemon, sliced into 6 wedges 

Yogurt Sauce 

• 1 cup unsweetened dairy free yogurt – I used Kite Hill original almond milk yogurt – don’t use their Greek yogurt, as it’s not as thick, if you don’t have an issue with Dairy, then use regular plain Greek yogurt 
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño, feel free to use more if you want it spicier
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot 
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon Celtic Sea salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and adjust the oven rack to middle upper rack in the oven.

Prep all of your ingredients.

Add the Madras curry powder, coconut oil, salt and pepper to a small bowl and whisk to combine. 

Add the sliced onion, chopped jalapeño, sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped portobello mushroom to a large baking dish. Pour the curry and coconut mixture over the vegetables and toss to combine. 

Add the chicken to the baking dish, and rub it throughly with the mixture. Once tossed, make sure to set the chicken skin side down in the baking dish. This helps it to absorb the sauce better. Tuck the sliced lemon wedges amongst the pieces of chicken. 

NOTE: You can always mix everything together in a large bowl, and then transfer it to the baking dish, but I chose to combine it all in the baking dish, as I didn’t want to wash another bowl, especially a bowl that had raw chicken in it. 

Bake chicken in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Take the chicken out from the oven, and then using a pair of tongs turn over each piece of chicken, give the veggies a toss, and bake skin-side up for another 15 minutes, or until the skin crisps up a bit, or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. 

Don’t worry if your thighs cook to 170 degrees or a bit above, thigh meat doesn’t get dry like breast meat and still tastes amazing at 170 degrees. I honestly pull my thighs out at the 170 degree mark most times.

Note: If the chicken is finished cooking, but you want the skin crispier, place the chicken under your broiler for a few minutes to brown up the skin. This particular chicken dish is not going to give you crispy chicken skin all the way around, as it’s baked with the vegetables, but it’s so good, that you won’t miss the crispy skin. 

Let the chicken rest and cool for 10 minutes in the pan to let the flavors meld. 

To make the yogurt sauce. I always make the yogurt sauce while I’m prepping the ingredients for the chicken, as I’m using some of the same ingredients, but it can be made while the chicken is cooking, or ahead in the day too.

In a medium bowl, add the yogurt, jalapeño, shallots, cilantro, salt and lemon juice.

Blend all the ingredients together well, give it a taste and feel free to add more salt, lemon juice or jalapeño to taste. If not using right away, store in the fridge in a glass container with a lid. 

Storage: Leftover yogurt sauce can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. 

What to pair this chicken with. We love this chicken topped over some black forbidden rice, along with the veggies and then topped with the yogurt sauce. We also always pair this chicken with a side of  broccolini and shallots. The combination of flavors is AMAZING!