Boneless Masala Chicken

I am letting y'all in on a Patel Family recipe with this one! Every barbecue or event we had with my dad’s side of the family growing my aunt would make some...

I am letting y'all in on a Patel Family recipe with this one! Every barbecue or event we had with my dad’s side of the family growing my aunt would make some variation of this chicken for me. I would stand over her shoulder and bother her every single time asking about measurements and what spices pair better with others and soaked up all her knowledge because I loved this dish that much. Around 12 to 13 years old is when I started cooking chicken on my own and I would attempt this chicken recipe for years until a few years ago I perfected it. You may be wondering, Sheyna, why didn’t you just ask for measurements ? Well my family has never measured a thing while cooking. It's all by feeling and practice which is actually how I used to cook before starting this blog. Anyways over time, by adding my own flare and spice combination I perfected my version of her recipe which hits the spot every single time. I feel like I say this in a lot of my blog posts but I genuinely have gotten so many people hooked onto this recipe! The biggest factor that will take the flavor to the next level with this one is the cooking technique and the marination. In terms of marination, I highly recommend marinating your chicken overnight but if that is not possible then I recommend marinating it for an hour minimum. If cooking chicken scares you do not worry, it used to terrify me too and I can not count the number of times I have had this recipe with dry chicken because I was scared of eating raw chicken. The key to this dish is cooking all the chicken breast pieces evenly and making sure you use a lid when cooking the chicken. I like to begin by sauteing it on a bit of higher heat until all the outside of the chicken starts to turn white, then I lower the heat, cover it with a lid and cook it on low heat. This allows the chicken to cook through in the middle and not dry it out because the steam from using a lid helps cook the chicken and the low heat helps it from burning and prevents uneven cooking methods. After you are done cooking I love to serve with some lime juice or lemon juice and top it off with lots of freshly chopped cilantro. It truly is such a satisfying meal that I often meal prep and I am so happy that I can now one day pass it on to my nieces and nephews and share it with you all. I hope you love this recipe as much as I do and my DMs are always open for any tips you may want/need…happy cooking!