Basil, Cilantro and Macadamia Nut Chicken

Submitted by canarygirl

"Not your ordinary weeknight chicken, but after marinating, the dish is ready in about 1/2 hour! Make it the night before and you have a quick, delicious treat for dinner. The flavor will have you filling your plate again and again."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken (I use breasts or thighs)
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 jalapenos
• 2 packages macadamia nuts (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 (6 ounce) containers plain yogurt
• 1 bunch basil, stems removed
• 1⁄2 cup cilantro
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 -2 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper

directions

1. Put ginger, garlic and peppers into a food processor and process til smooth.
2. Add macadamia nuts and continue to process.
3. Add oil, lime juice yogurt, basil, cilantro and spices and process again until smooth.
4. Put the chicken in a medium bowl, and add the mixture, stirring to coat all pieces.
5. Cover and refrigerate chicken for 12 hours.
6. This step is not necessarily required (I have made it after marinating for only 1/2 hour, but the flavor is much better if you do let it marinate).
7. Heat a bit of oil (2 tbls) in a wok, or deep dish fry pan.
8. Add chicken and its marinade to pan and cook thoroughly, stirring frequently, until marinade sticks to chicken.
9. This will take about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour.
10. The mixture will look soupy at first, and then begin to thicken up as the sauce reduces.
11. I like a little heat, so I also add a little chili oil to the dish.
12. Serve with steamed jasmine or basmati rice.

Reviews

[bella214]

AWE-SOME!! Oh wow, I can't get over how easy this was and the flavor was out of this world. I did as you recommended and made the marinade the night before so the chicken could marinate for 12 hours. The seasoning go well together and they are potent. Thanks canarygirl for putting a little spice in our lives.

 

[JustJanS]

I marinated the chicken for this dish yesterday. All day at work today I kept thinking about it sitting there waiting for me to cook it and I wasn't disappointed. The herbs, yoghurt, lime, ginger, garlic etc. combine to make the tastiest sauce, and all in half an hour as canarygirl said. We can't buy Jalapenos, so I used Thai Birds Eye Cillies. Certainly worth trying-I will be again real soon.

 

[Just Call Me Martha]

I made this last night and it was just heavenly. Great combination of flavours. Unfortunately, the grocery store forgot to pack my fresh basil and cilantro, so I had to resort to dried herbs. I was only able to marinate the boneless skinless chicken breasts for about 4 hours or so, but that seemed to be fine. Despite the changes that I had to make, this recipe was awesome. I can't wait to make it again with the fresh herbs and the proper marinating time. Thanks Canarygirl.

 

[Jill77]

Wonderful! This is unique and great for special occasions. I marinated overnight and used chicken breast cutlets. Consequently, I didn't have to cook them for very long (only about 10 minutes or so.) I served this with jasmine rice and garlic green beans. It was excellent! I did only use about 1 lb. of chicken, so I had plenty of extra sauce to pour over the rice. Thanks CG for this great recipe, and of course for all of your help!

 

[lilu1893]

I have a habit of making a recipe once and moving on. My dinner guests insisted I make this again. My only problem was I added more chicken (3 lbs) and consequently had no "gravy" for the rice. Next time I will follow the recipe and perhaps hold some of the sauce out of the marinade to use at the very end.