Chicken tenderloin – quick and easy to cut into the right shape so they sit flat on the pan, and the finished dish looks like Al Aseel’s. It’s also more tender than chicken breast, though you can use breast in a pinch (the marinade does wonders with tenderising). Thighs also work, though they aren’t as uniform in shape as tenderloin or breast.
Yogurt – Greek or plain yogurt, unsweetened, is an excellent flavour carrier for marinades to get the garlic infused all the way through each piece. It also creates a nice coating so the tasty flavours sticks to the surface of the chicken. Full fat please!
Lemon – The acid in the marinade that helps tenderise, as well as adding tangy lemon flavour.
Olive oil – To add a bit of richness and dilute the acidity of the lemon a bit so it doesn’t “cook” the chicken.
Salt and pepper – for seasoning the chicken.
The lemon garlic sauce
Make this while you’ve got everything out for the marinade because it uses the same ingredients! In fact, the flavour in the sauce needs time to meld so needs to be made at least 1 hour ahead
Yogurt – Using full fat is essential here. Low fat has a “watery” mouthfeel to it.
Tahini – I don’t think Al Aseel uses tahini, I think they mix yogurt with toum which is a Lebanese garlic dip made with a lot of oil. A small amount of tahini instead provides mouthfeel richness without overtaking the sauce with sesame flavour.
