Middle Eastern Chicken with Turmeric Rice

About This Recipe

Chicken thighs seasoned with middle eastern spices and grilled to perfection. Paired with the chicken is rice, spiced with turmeric and mixed with carrots, peas, and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt
• ½ red onion (minced)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp paprika
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 ½ cups cooked rice
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 Roma tomato
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook enough rice to have 2 ½ cups of cooked rice. 1 cup of uncooked rice will yield around 3 cups of cooked rice.
2. Once the rice has finished cooking, measure out 2 ½ cups and place in a large bowl.
3. Cut your Roma tomato into a small dice, remove the seeds. Chop the shredded carrots into smaller pieces.
4. Mix in 1 tsp turmeric, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup frozen peas, the diced tomato, 1 ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. While the rice is cooking add the chicken thighs to a ziplock back with 1 cup of Greek yogurt, ½ of minced red onion, ¼ tsp salt, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, ½ tsp paprika, and 1 Tbsp olive oil.
6. Toss the chicken around in the bag to make sure it is evenly coated and then remove the air and allow to marinate for at least 5 minutes. 30 minutes is preferred but in the interest of time, it is not required.
7. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
8. Cook the chicken in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding. Cook it for roughly 3 minutes on each side but be careful not to mess with it too much as you want the outside to develop some color.
9. After the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pan and cut it into a large dice. Add it back to the pan to allow for it to finish cooking and develop more color.
10. This recipe makes 5 servings. Divide the chicken and rice evenly between each of your containers.