You people already know that I have a thing for chicken, I eat so much of it that variety is a absolute necessity. Some of the fan favorite recipes in the past have been Chicken Paprika, coconut chicken and chicken Yassa. This is a recipe that rivals the ones listed. I am sharing my secret chicken ingredient with the nation today, guess what it is –Â yogurt. Yes yogurt. Without going into too much sciency detail, the acid in the yogurt penetrates and breaks down the chicken muscle which leads to a more intense flavored moist chicken.
Still have your nose turned up to the idea of yogurt + meat? please please humor me, just do half batch with yogurt and do half batch without. Now come back and give me your verdict.
Onto the recipe:
Spicy Chicken Legs
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: African
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Do come back with your review, I guarantee you will not make chicken a different way for a while
Ingredients
- The Chicken
- Chicken Leg quarters – 12
- Thyme – 1 Tbspn
- Rosemary – 1 Tbspn
- Black, white or Cameroon pepper – To taste
- Salt – to taste
- Maggi – 3 cubes
- 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
- The Sauce
- 6-12 clean Chili pepper – Ata wewe , sombo
- 4 clean Garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Thoroughly combine all ingredients for the chicken. Set in the fridge to marinate overnight
- Combine sauce ingredients in a blender. pulse until rough blended. Set aside
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line an oven tray with foil or parchment
- Arrange marinated chicken on oven tray, bake for 30 minutes
- Remove chicken from oven, generously cover pieces with sauce
- Change oven setting to broil /grill and increase to 400f
- Return chicken to oven and cook for another 12-15 minutes
Serve with rice or fries (chips)
Tenderising and flavouring meat with yoghurt is a very old tradition. It is the basis of Indian Tandoori chicken and many tikkas. I do this all the time. The main difference is that the chicken is skinned and has small slashes cut in the flesh to allow the yogurt based marinade to really penetrate the meat.
I’m definitely trying this. For real
Thanks Ronke. Can’t wait to try it out.
Let me know how it turns out.
Hi Ronke, looking forward to trying this out. How do you retain the moisture like the chicken doesn’t look too dry…any need for oil? Thank you
What of if I don’t want to use yoghurt ow can I go about it
You can simply omit the yogurt or replace with a little lemon juice.
Can chicken breast be used instead?
Using the broil makes a WORLD of difference, o my!!!
Thanks a million for the tip!
You are most welcome.
Hi Ronke,
Is it ok to use unsweetened yoghurt?
Hello Ronke,.
I’m so excited to try out this recipe! One question please – can plain Greek yogurt be used? Looking forward to hearing from you. :)
Thanks!
Hello… yes, plain greek yogurt will work.
hi! I love your blog and I think it’s awesome what you’re doing here :). I just wanted to ask if can substitute sombo with ata rodo and if so in what proportions xx
Thank you. Yes you can, 3-5 depending on your heat tolerance.
Hi Ronke,
Please is there any substitute for Honey? Because I don’t want the chicken to have a “sweet” taste or does the mixture of pepper,garlic and honey give the chicken a different taste entirely?
Trust me, it doesn’t taste sweet at all. It just balances out the flavors.
.have
Hi Ronke I just a few question to ask my oven has broil/girl . Am I going to preheat heat at 350 then change it 400f for grilling
No, the oven will already be hot. just switch the settings.
On point! Tried it and it turned out beautifully. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Uche.
Thanks for the recipe ! How long can I leave the chicken to marinate for ?
Please which condiments us rosemary? Curry,thyme,pepper I know but I dnt get rosemary at all…and what does it do?
You can see it here : https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-rosemary-oil.html
9jafoodie,tnx for d new recipe.
Please, what is Rosemary recipe? Can I do without adding it cos I can’t get it where I am.
Also, I don’t think my oven has the grill function though, I have an oven with light at both the bottom and the top.
Can I still prepare it and get the desired result?
Thank You
yes! you can skip the rosemary. grilling is just to cook the top, you can flip the chicken pieces instead.
Perfecto!
Where have you been all my life
Came out perfect
Thanks darling
But my chicken keep sticking on the foil I spread on the oven pan
Is there a way to avoid it
Yours looked like it didn’t stick
yeiii!! that’s great. You should try oiling the foil, it makes a world of difference.
Can i use a microwave oven for this?
Samsung style microwave oven used for baking? then yes.
Hiii Ronke.. Am new to your blog but I can’t wait to try your recipes.
Please for this recipe and all other chicken recipe, my oven just says grill.. Can I use that too?
Welcome! yes, you can use the grill function.
Hello Ronke,
Thanks sooo much for this post. I want to try a different kind of chicken for my husband and this looks perfect. My issue is my oven’s fire is on the bottom, not top of the oven. Will this affect the cooking? Cos I seem to think how will the fire get to the chicken with the tray and foil on d bottom. I don’t know if you understand my predicament.
Hello Nike…bottom heat will distribute, most ovens are like yours. Not to worry, the heat will still get to the chicken.
Thank you:) I actually went ahead and used what I had with the same amounts of seasoning and it turned out quite well. Can’t wait to try it next time with more chicken.
Hi there: your website is great and is helping me to expand my cooking repertoire to include Nigerian recipes:) Just a quick question: I have boneless, skinless chicken thighs on hand. Can I use these as they are with the current recipe or do I need to adjust ratios? Thanks in advance:)
You can either add 6 pieces more or remove a quarter of the seasoning.
You are doing a fantastic job here, especially in assisting me vamp up my kitchen skills. I am on this food adventure journey right now and you are helping me love and enjoy cooking and trying out new things in the kitchen.
I really want to try out this recipe, but my oven doesn’t have temperature settings, neither does it have the setting for broil/grill or any such settings. How do I overcome this challenge? Please respond.
That is great to hear confiance. The recipe is still doable. Follow the instruction as is but start checking the chicken at 5 minutes intervals after about 25 minutes in the oven, this will help you gauge how fast or slow the chicken is cooking. A great test to see if the chicken is cooked enough is to pierce it with a knife, if the water runs clear then you are golden. To simulate the broil function, simply flip the chicken so you get some color on. Happy cooking!!
Simple deliciousness. I like. Well done :)
Thanks mama
I have made chicken at-least three times using this recipe. It is amazing!!!
YEII!! thanks for the feedback
Those of us dat our oven dnt have grill wot do we do nd wots d fariheit in centigrade?
350F or 176c
Thanks dear will try it again nd let u know
Secondly ur sauce look watering my was like paste
you can always add a little bit of water into the sauce if you find it thick. The consistency should be spreadable
I try dis recipe but is too sweet is there any reason
did you use plain or flavored yogurt? also you can try reducing the honey
If you’re to pan fry it, when do you add the sauce please?
Does the hiney make it sweet? And is there any substitute if it does?
no, it doesnt make it sweet.
Thanks alot for the amazing recipe. As an amateur cook my chicken tasted great, probably the best chicken I’ve made.
That’s great to hear Zainab
Tried it for dinner tonight and it was amazing!! Everyone absolutely loved it especially when I told them there was yogurt in it (took a while before they believed me lol). I used pouring yogurt so I was able to turn the left over marinade and chilly mix into a nice gravy. Thank you so much for sharing can’t wait to try the other recipes on here xx
awwwww… this is great! thanks for the feedback
hi…me again…what of milk…thick or watery like liquid milk
milk should produce similar result. unsweetened liquid or buttermilk.
My oven’s broil is just Hi or Low…is 400 degrees considered Hi?
yes, 400 is high. just watch it closely so it doesn’t burn.
African Food Recipes by 9jafoodie you posted 6-12Clean Chilli Pepper. Did you mean tbsp or ???? I have Crushed Chili Pepper you buy as a seasoning. Also which Maggi cubes did you use? There is Chicken Maggi and different kinds depending on where you are geographically. How much Salt and pepper?
Yes 6-12 depending on how much heat you can handle, there is a lot of chicken pieces to cover. You can use store bought crushed chilli if you prefer. The flavor of maggi cube is similar across the board, I am not usually not very particular about that. Salt and pepper again is a subject of taste… I added about 1 teaspoon each.
I loved this. I made a few modifications to mine. I didn’t blend the sauce as suggested. Simply mixed honey, crayenne pepper and garlic powder together and covered the chicken pieces with the sauce before broiling. I broiled for 8mins. It still turned out fine.
Awww great! thanks for the feedback and addition.
Please do I add water when blending the sauce?? Or the honey alone!!! Pls reply
Just the honey
Hi i love your recipe, so looking forward to trying it over the weekend, thanks so much.
Can i substitute ginger for garlic as i don’t like garlic much at all. Thanks.
I will say you should omit it all together. Ginger will work but might be a little overpowering.
I’m trying this today, I’m so excited
whoop!! please let us know how it goes
Can u post de image of de yogurt pls!!
Any yogurt will do
Hi! Can I use chicken thighs instead of drumsticks or is there is a difference depending on the chicken part?
No, you can use whatever chicken part you prefer.
Really gonna give this tryyyyyyyyy….tired of eating chicken in the old fashioned way..lol
Hi,
Can i use Ata Rodo in place of ata wewe. Dont even know which one is ata wewe. Lol.
has*
Thanks, 9jafoodie. I will try this next weekend. I’m having friends over for dinner and let’s just say my enthusiasm fas been rekindled with this recipe!
Pls can I just buy any yoghurt frm the store? Or it’s a special kind of yoghurt thank you
Any brand will do. Just make sure it’s plain yogurt or vanilla flavored at the most.
Ao can I prepare it wit out using oven
steam it stove top without water then pan fry it in a pan.
I tried this on Friday and then on Sunday, that’s how nice it was. I normally make a good chicken but with the yoghurt, it was awesome on all levels. I used dry pepper in mine though and it still turned out great. Thanks for the recipe, I’ve told everyone about it already lol
yeiiiiii!! thanks for the feedback lizzy.
Thanks 9jafoodie for this recipe. It was fingerlicking delicious even though i skipped the rosemary
yeiii!! that’s awesome. thanks for the feedback
My chicken always sticks to the foil when I bake in the oven.how can i avoid this.btw trying this today but skipping the rosemary because I don’t have right now. Hope it still comes out nice
Line your tray with foil or parchment, Or oil the tray prior to use.
Yum Yum! looks amazing as always :)
Thank you!! :)
Thank you for sharing the recipe. It looks so good and l am definitely trying it this weekend. I wonder if it will turn out well on the bbq rather than the oven. Would I have to bake it first?
It will be perfect on the grill (I am so jealous, I wish I had a grill). No, you do not have to bake it first. Grill until almost ready, apply sauce and finish it off. I can just imagine the smoky deliciousness.
looks super delicious. I have a question tho, what difference does yogurt make? I have never tried that before
The yogurt keeps the meat extremely moist, it also enhances flavor. you need to try it!
My chicken is burnt!
What happened? did you forget it in the oven?
No I didn’t I used 12 mins
on 400F? that’s very strange. Oven settings definitely vary, but I don’t think it should burn. Maybe leave the oven light on next time and start checking the chicken after about 5 minutes. also, you might want to move your oven rack lower, that way the chicken isn’t very close to the heat source. sorry, I cant think of any other reason.
Can i use scotch bonnet instead, no chilies right now
yes you can
I’ll try this. I usually brine my chicken overnight so I’m definitely up for trying yoghurt instead. I like yoghurt in curries and savory sauces so excitement for trying it in roast chicken!
awesome! let me know how it turns out.
Can I please see a picture of the chilli pepper you used?
http://classicalmedicinejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Anti-Cancer-Chili-Peppers.jpg
Please I want to ask Ma. For the 1st procedure after marinating, Can the Chicken be cooked instead of baked in an oven?
Yes, you can. simply cook the chicken on low heat without added water. You can then add the sauce and pan fry it a little.
Forgive my ignorance pls way ingredient is rosemary and where do i buy it
Rosemary is a seasoning herb, just like thyme.
Yogurt sounds good as I have used mayonnaise before and it came out great. Thanks
great
Looks delish! Never added yogurt but sounds right. I will try.
let us know how it goes
The Chicken looks yummy. Would love to try this. Please is there any substitute for the plain yoghurt?
great!there is no substitute for yogurt but you can add some milk & lemon juice for similar effect.
I did mine for Thanksgiving, soaked the whole turkey in buttermilk, onions,salt and spices..it was delicious! I make excellent grilled fish and my tortilla filling is awesome! Thanks for yogurt heads up
Very nice! you are welcome
Can u remove the skin?
yes
Hi, can the yoghurt be sweetened?
Yes it can