This easy lemon chicken recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner! Not too lemony, just right. It’s made with garlic, butter, lemon, thyme, and rosemary.
Lemon, chicken, dried chilli, garlic and some seriously delectable sugarcane juice is all you need for this fantastic recipe. Try this different yet amazingly delicious version of a chicken at your next dinner party and you wouldn’t be able to resist coming back to this chicken recipe!
Tips for Making Lemon Chicken
Lemon is acidic and helps balance the stronger flavor of the dark meat in thighs and legs, and the fat from the chicken skin.
Of course, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. Depending on the size of your pieces, you probably won’t need to cook them as long as thighs.
Don’t like the skin? Not everyone does. But do cook with the skin-on if you can. Cooking with the skin on not only protects the meat from drying out, the chicken gets bathed with the flavor from the skin while it cooks.
Also Read: Spring Rolls Recipe
Lemon Chicken Recipe
Course: DinnerCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes2
hours300
kcalA melt in your mouth chicken recipe with a tangy twist. Lemon chicken made with citrus juices, sugarcane juice and some basic Indian spices. Try this tangy yet delicious version of chicken at your next dinner party and you wouldn’t be able to resist coming back to this chicken recipe!
Ingredients
6 Chicken thighs (without skin)
- For the base:
3-4 tbsp refined oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 onions, julienne
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 inch ginger, chopped
3-4 Green chillies
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
to taste salt
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp fresh sugarcane juice
for garnishing fresh coriander
Directions
- Heat a heavy cooking vessel on a high heat and once its hot, add the refined oil and swirl the pan to coat the base evenly. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the cumin seeds and saute them until crackling and fragrant.
- Now add the onions, garlic and ginger and sauté them gently until they take on a light golden brown color. Turn up the heat and then add the spice powders.
- Toast the spices on a high heat until they are intensely aromatic and well toasted. Then add a little water and bhuno the base ingredients repeatedly until the oil rises to the top and the masala is well cooked out.
- Add some salt and mix well, then add the chicken thighs to the pan. Turn up the heat and fry the chicken in the masala until it is evenly coated with the flavor of the base and is a very light yellowy golden brown in color.
- Now add the lemon and orange juice to the chicken and deglaze the pan well, scraping up the flavor packed pan deposits on the base of the pan.
- Stir everything together well to combine, then add a little sugarcane juice to balance the acidity of the lemon juice.
- Bring the chicken to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover the pan and let the chicken simmer away until it is cooked to perfection and almost falling off the bone.
- Once the chicken is cooked, uncover the pan and simmer the light gravy until slightly reduced and concentrated in flavor. Turn off the heat, then garnish with fresh coriander and serve with hot rotis or rice.
Notes
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice provides the best flavor. Be sure to remove any seeds before adding the juice to the recipe. The lemon zest adds a wonderful citrus aroma, so try to use organic lemons for the zest, as they are free from wax or pesticides.
- Flour coating: Coating the chicken breasts in flour helps to create a golden crust and helps thicken the sauce. If you prefer a gluten-free version, you can use a gluten-free flour blend or almond flour instead.
