What Can I Make with Chicken and Yogurt?

Yogurt is the standard chicken marinade across South Asia, the Middle East and Iran, and the reason is not simply that it is acidic. Lemon juice and vinegar are far more acidic and they are considerably worse at the job: strong acid denatures the surface proteins of the meat, turning the outer layer chalky and dry while barely penetrating. Yogurt lactic acid is mild by comparison, and it works slowly enough to tenderise without wrecking the texture. Its calcium is also thought to activate enzymes in the meat that break protein down gently.

The physical properties matter just as much. Yogurt is thick, so it clings to the surface of chicken instead of running off, and it holds ground spices in suspension against the meat rather than letting them fall to the bottom of the bowl. That is why tikka and kabab marinades are yogurt-based — the spice paste stays where you put it, for hours.

Browning is the third benefit. Yogurt contains milk proteins and lactose, and under the very high heat of a tandoor, grill or hot oven these brown quickly and produce the charred, blistered edges that define a good tikka. A plain oil marinade will not char in the same way.

As a sauce, yogurt has the opposite problem. Its proteins curdle when boiled, so in a dahi curry it is whisked smooth, added off the heat or over very low heat, and often stabilised with a little flour. Custrd matches your chicken and yogurt against tested recipes and shows what else each one needs.