This super easy 10 ingredient Sumac Chicken is full of wonderful Middle Eastern flavors and is a quick dinner dish, best enjoyed with spiced yogurt and pitas. The sumac is really lemony, tangy and the flavor it brings out is lip-smacking!
I was supposed to bring you this easy 10 ingredient Sumac Chicken recipe a few days ago, because it's the last thing I made for Denver before I came down to Raipur to meet my parents. But I got here, and fell horribly sick. In fact I'm still sniffling and coughing, which sucks, because I haven't been able to enjoy my visit at all so far. But I'm on meds, and hopefully will be better by the time Diwali comes.
In the meanwhile, I have some fantastic news to share with all of you. I've been nominated for the India Food Blogger Awards this year and My Food Story has been shortlisted under two categories - Best Recipe Blog and Best General Food Blog. There was some furious voting that happened in the last couple of days and I'm awaiting results, with my fingers crossed. You guys have a huge part to play in this, and whether I win or not, the support that I've received in the last week from friends, family and my readers is enough to make me feel like a winner already! And that's what counts right?
I've been living on khichdi for the last few days, but that shouldn't stop us from talking about and drooling all over this chicken right? Because Sumac, where have you been all my life? Why was I so ignorant of your existence? Because you are the most versatile, tangy, lemony spice I have in my spice cupboard right now. It's a middle eastern herb that is now easily available in India at most speciality stores and I'm already dangerously close to finishing the entire bottle I bought only a few weeks ago!
What I love the most about this recipe is that it's EASY. As easy as mixing a few things together, rubbing them on the chicken and cooking it in the same pan! I love recipes like these, because who has the time these days? Between finishing up last minute work, picking clothes from the dry cleaners, making sure the fridge was well stocked for Denver while I was away and packing (ugh) there was hardly any time for elaborate dinners! And this chicken seriously SAVED me. And one day, it'll save you too. So this recipe is a MUST SAVE.
And the flavours are phenomenal. The sumac is lemony and tangy. I added a whole head of garlic, and some quartered onions which caramelized and stuck to the pan. Yay sticky, crispy, pan scrapings! The sliced lemons are bitter on their own, but when rubbed on the chicken, the juices make the sumac flavours jump out even more.
Guys I am a sick, bed ridden person right now, but this is so simple that I can make this in my sleep! So you gotta try it, and tell me what you think? Are you going to make this as is, or are you planning to make variations? Because I love hearing all about your little experiments. So go ahead, leave me a comment, send me a picture and let's swap some Sumac stories over some of this Easy 10 Ingredient Sumac Chicken!
More Middle-Eastern Recipes To Go With This:
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Chicken Shawarma made street style at home
- Lebanese Pecan Red Pepper Dip | Muhammara
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- Creamy Sundried Tomato Hummus (No Tahini Required)
Easy 10 ingredient Sumac Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.2 kilograms Chicken cleaned and washed
- 2 tablespoons Sumac
- ½ cup Hung Curd
- 3 tablespoons Garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon Chilli Powder
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- 3 Onions quartered w
- 1 Garlic whole head of, halved
- 1 Lemon large, sliced
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into fairly large pieces. I got about 6 pieces from the entire bird. The chicken can weigh anywhere between a kilo to 1.3 kilograms. If your bird is larger, adjust the spices accordingly.
- Mix together sumac, hung curd, garlic paste, chili powder and salt in a bowl and rub all over the chicken, making sure that you get to all the crevices. Keep this aside for anywhere from half an hour to overnight. The longer the better.
- In a oven proof roasting pan, add the chicken pieces one by one. Cook on high heat for 3 minutes on each side till the chicken gets a slight golden brown. Add the onions, garlic pods and sliced lemons to the pan. Transfer the pan to a pre-heated oven for 40-50 minutes and bake at 200 degrees celsius. In case you don't have an oven, or an oven proof roasting pan, you can also cook this on a stove (See point 5)
- Remove from the oven and serve hot.
- To cook on the stove: To cook the chicken on the stove, cook on high heat for 3 minutes on each side till the chicken gets a slight golden brown. Add the onions, garlic pods and sliced lemons to the pan. Reduce the heat, and cook for 20 minutes on each side, till the chicken is cooked through. Some juices will get collected in the pan while cooking. You can increase the heat, and cook till the juices evaporate, but I quite like having them in the pan.
Notes
- If you are vegetarian, fret not, you can use the same marinade for cauliflower, potatoes or paneer.
- Cooking times may vary slightly based on the size of the bird.
- In India, you can buy Sumac at speciality gourmet stores such as Nature's Basket and Foodhall India.
Richa Gupta says
Thanks Surabhi and yes it's skinless but the spices give a nice crispy crust!
surabhi rattan says
Looks delicious...just wanted to check. ...is the chicken skinless
Richa Gupta says
Thanks Sujitha, Dixya and Dolphia, I am feeling much better now. This flu took all the energy out of me!
Dolphia Nandi-Arnstein says
The chicken looks so good! They are popping out of my screen and asking me to eat them, right away. Hope you're good now Richa!
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
congratulations!!!! Im sorry about the illness
Sujitha Nair says
Congrats Richa.get well soon.Nice photography and tempting chicken