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White pot of afghan chicken (lawang)

Afghan Chicken in Creamy Yogurt Sauce (Lawang)

This chicken is excellent for dinner or the next day in a lunch box. Serve it with a crunchy salad such as salata, a combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon, and cilantro that is a staple of the Afghan table.
Course Dinner
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 3 minutes
Servings 6
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt
  • 3 pounds skinless, bone-in chicken legs and/or thighs
  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 very large or 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 1/2 cups white or brown basmati rice

Instructions

  1. Remove the yogurt and chicken from the refrigerator.

  2. Begin cooking the rice using your preferred method or according to package directions.

  3. While the rice cooks, in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add the onions and saute until soft and nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute or so.

  4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the onions. Add the chicken and sprinkle the salt over everything. Stir well and drop the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the chicken from sticking.

  5. Add the black pepper, turmeric and coriander, and stir. Cover and continue to cook on low until the chicken is very tender, another 25 minutes. If the pan begins to go dry during cooking, add water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, if needed.

  6. Remove the pot from heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.

  7. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the sauce from the chicken into a small bowl. Add half the yogurt and stir. Add the remaining yogurt and stir again. Pour the yogurt mixture over the chicken and slowly stir until creamy and uniform in color. This process will help prevent the yogurt from separating when added to the chicken. If it does separate after all, not to worry, it will still be delicious (just not quite as pretty).

  8. Scatter the chopped cilantro over the chicken and serve with rice. Be generous with the sauce, since you will have plenty and it's delicious over the rice.