Spiced Yoghurt Chicken (Air Fryer Basket)

Tempo

50 min (15 cook + marinade)

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

3porções

Ingredientes

100g natural / Greek yogurt (iogurte natural integral)

3-4 chicken breasts (filé de peito de frango) OR equivalent in thighs

1 tsp

garlic granules (or 2 fresh garlic cloves grated)

1 tsp

onion salt (or ½ tsp fine salt + ½ tsp onion powder)

1 tsp

paprika doce

½ tsp

chile flakes *(omit for heat 0; or use Calabrian chile flakes for heat 2)*

½ tsp

dried oregano

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tbsp

olive oil

A handful of fresh coriander, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Salt and pepper

Modo de preparo

01**Mix marinade.** Combine all ingredients (except chicken and coriander) in a bowl. Whisk smooth.
02**Score chicken.** Use a sharp knife to make shallow diagonal cuts across each breast (about 4-5 cuts per breast, ~5mm deep). This lets the marinade penetrate.
03**Marinate.** Add chicken to the bowl. Massage marinade into the cuts. **Marinate 30 minutes if you can**; 2-4 hours is even better; up to overnight in fridge. If rushed, even 5 minutes is fine — the recipe still works.
04**Preheat the basket air fryer to 180°C** (or 200°C if your unit runs cool — see Notes).
05**Cook.** Place chicken in the basket in a single layer. **180°C for 12-15 minutes**, flipping at 8 min. Internal temp should hit 74°C; chicken should look golden-edged with the yogurt-spice crust set.
06**Rest 3 min.** Slice or serve whole.
07**Garnish.** Chopped coriander on top.

Spiced Yoghurt Chicken

The 5-minute weeknight chicken: yogurt + spices + chicken in a bowl, marinade if you have time, basket air fryer for 12-15 minutes. The yogurt acts as a tenderizer and clings to the chicken as it cooks, building a tangy spiced crust.

Heat: 1/5. Mild from the chile flakes — easy to omit.

Serving

This chicken is versatile:

Plate dinner: with rice, a green salad, and a yogurt-cucumber sauce (similar to the tzatziki recipe in Sauces and Sides)
Wrap: stuff into pita with lettuce, tomato, raw onion, more yogurt
Salad bowl: sliced over grain bowl with chickpeas, roasted vegetables, lemon dressing
Meal prep: cook 6 breasts at once; portion into containers with rice and broccoli for lunches

Tame it (drop to heat 0)

Skip chile flakes entirely; add an extra ½ tsp paprika doce for color

Sub: bottled chiles only

Replace chile flakes with 2-3 drops of Cepera Calabrês or Cepera Mexicano in the marinade.

Freezer-kit version

Combine yogurt + spices + scored chicken in a freezer bag. Press out air, freeze flat. Up to 2 months.

Cook day: defrost in fridge overnight (the yogurt marinade can't penetrate frozen meat). Cook as above. The freezer-storage time also doubles as marinade time, so chicken is deeply seasoned by the time you cook.

Notes

Air fryer temp varies. Some basket units run hot (the older "single dial" type); others run cool. If your unit runs cool, bump to 200°C and check at 12 min. Try one batch to calibrate.
Score the breast deeply. Shallow cuts barely help; cuts that go halfway down let the marinade transform the meat from inside.
Yogurt quality. Greek-style (thick) is better than thin runny yogurt — clings better to the chicken. Don't use sweet yogurt.
Variations:
- Tandoori-leaning: add 1 tsp ground cumin + 1 tsp ground coriander + ½ tsp turmeric + ½ tsp ground ginger to the marinade. Add a dot of red food coloring (or paprika doce + a tiny pinch of beetroot powder) for the iconic red color.
- Greek-leaning: add 1 tsp dried mint + 1 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp crumbled feta to the marinade.
- Cajun-leaning: swap paprika doce + chile + oregano for 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning.
Conventional oven: 200°C, 22-25 min for breasts; 25-30 for thighs. Air fry mode if your oven has it gives the closest result.
Wine: off-dry Riesling, Albariño, or just cold beer.