Serves 4; cooking time, prep included  – 45 minutes 

one chicken, cut into pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced 
4 teaspoons nit’ir qibe 
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter 
2 teaspoon berberé
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 cup diced tomatoes
4 hard boiled eggs
Salt to taste 

Heat the olive oil or butter, add the onion to the pan and cook until softened and slightly golden. Add the nit’ir qibe and berbere to the onion stir until coated with spices.  Cook for another 2 minutes on low heat. Add broth, bring to a boil, and lower to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the chicken, lower the heat, and cook, covered, at a low simmer for 20 minutes. Add the eggs and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.        Serve with rice and sauteed greens with coconut milk.

1 tablespoon Chicken & Ribs Blend
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
8 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1 tablespoon honey
1 chicken, cut into pieces
3-4 plums, sliced, pits removed
1 large onion, quartered and thickly sliced

 

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces. Add the chicken pieces and rub all over with the spice, lemon, and honey mixture. If you have time, refrigerate for 2-6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a sheet pan with parchment or foil, if you want. Add the sliced plums and onions to the bowl, toss, and pour the contents of the bowl onto the sheet pan.

Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Serve with good bread or rice for soaking up the juices.

We have one cookbook that I will never, ever be without. I mean, we have many wonderful cookbooks full of delicious recipes, but Monisha Bharadwaj's The Indian Cooking Course is a work of precision and breadth, full of information about Indian regional cooking. Some recipes allow you to get the dish on the table in 10 minutes, some several hours. The photographer, Gareth Morgans, knows his stuff and accompanies the recipes - as well as descriptions of spices and vegetables -with sumptuous photos. This recipe is adapted from Monisha's book.

We recommend using good-sized chicken quarters (thigh and leg), and not using breasts. We prefer the moisture and taste of quarters.

This recipe for Kori Gassi originates in Karnataka and creates an immensely rich tasting main course that's also good for you. We serve it with high heat sauteed green beans with a handful of sliced almonds and some salt. And rice. You could easily make it vegan by switching out the chicken for potatoes and cauliflower (adding the cauliflower towards the end of the cooking process).

2-4 tablespoons oil or ghee
2 small onions, finely chopped
3-6 cloves of garlic, minced or smashed or grated
a large thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
a handful of unsweetened coconut, rehydrated in boiling water if dried
2 tablespoons of tamarind (or 1 tablespoon lime juice, added at the end)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seed
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons Kitchen Imp Garam Masala
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 hot chili, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 medium tomatoes, pureed, or 1.5 cup canned tomatoes and juice
2.25 pounds (more or less) chicken thigh quarters or just bone-in thighs, skin removed
1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat, as low fat will make the dish too watery)8 curry leaves, if you have them
salt to taste

Add 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee in a pan at least 10" across and 3" deep. Heat til the oil starts to shimmer. Add the onion and cook 5-8 minutes, til the onion is golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger, as well as the hot chili, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes on slightly lower heat. Add the Garam Masala and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour the onion mixture into a bowl to cool slightly.

In a separate frying pan, toast the coriander and fenugreek seed til slightly darker and aromatic. Set aside to cool and then grind or add whole to the onion mixture when you blend it.

When the onion mixture is cool enough, blend it, along with the toasted spices and the coconut, with a stick blender or in a blender. 

Sprinkle the chicken with the Kashmiri chili powder and turmeric. Add a tablespoon or two of oil to the pan and heat to a shimmer. Place the thighs into the pan with the curry leaves and, after 30 seconds, flip them. After 30 more seconds, add the tomatoes. Stir to mix the spices into the tomatoes. Raise the heat until the tomatoes start to bubble and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes thicken slightly.

Add the onion mixture and cook, covered, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 135 degrees. Uncover and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees. Turn the heat to low, add the coconut milk, and cook for a few more minutes.

Taste the sauce and season with salt as desired. 

Serves 6 with leftovers

This version follows my general attempt to add more vegetables to our diet and to use meat more as a bit player than as a main ingredient. To that end, I’ve added a variety of vegetables, as well as chicken thighs. We ate this with saffron rice and adored the whole meal.  The roasted eggplant adds a little extra time, but is well worth it.  It adds substance and a little extra body and texture. I’ve broken the recipe into three parts, but fear not, it’s still under an hour of prep. You can prepare the first part the night before.

Ingredients, part 1:
4 chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tablespoons Tikka Masala
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup Greek yogurt

(Click title for the rest of the recipe)

Here's a recipe for a quick mole with Chipotle Chocolate Rub.  

1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup almonds, ground (a food processor or blender will work) or a scant 1/3 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate and a scant 1/2 cup water or 1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons of Chipotle Chocolate Rub
14 ounces of tomatoes
1 3-4 pound roasting chicken, cut into pieces

In a large frying pan, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the Chipotle Chocolate Rub. Stir, cooking for two minutes.  Add the almonds and tomatoes, mix, and then turn off the heat. Puree the mixture in a blender, then pour back into the frying pan and cook until the mixture thickens and reduces by 1/4-1/3.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the dutch oven. Take the chicken pieces and place them skin side down in the pan, first brown the skin side (3-5 minutes) and then flip and brown the other side.  Pour the mixture from the frying pan over the chicken, put on the lid and cook.  I cook it until the internal temp of the thigh is 150-155 degrees.  Please keep in mind, however, that the USDA says 165 degrees.  So you should do that if you're litigious.  

I recommend serving this with green beans, cooked briefly and at high heat, so they just start to blister and are still crunchy.

Chicken Sofrito adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi

Just in time for Passover, or for spring, or for whatever suits your fancy, here’s a truly delicious, colorful, and easy chicken dish.  You can easily scale this for a larger group by doubling.

1 3-4 pound chicken, cut into quarters or pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
the juice of one small or ½ a large lemon
3 cups diced white or yellow potatoes (not russets), cut into a 1” dice
Olive oil

Utensils needed: a shallow, heavy bottomed pan; a frying pan; a paring knife; a chef’s knife; a cutting board.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the heavy pan.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, and sugar in a small bowl.  Pat the spice mixture onto the chicken and place the chicken, skin side down, in the pan.  When it is thoroughly browned, flip it and place in the oven.

Heat the frying pan to medium high and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the potatoes and leave until they are browned on the first side.  Toss to turn and brown another side or two.  Take the chicken out of the oven, briefly put the pieces onto a plate, and put the potatoes and garlic into the pan. Place the chicken pieces atop the potato mixture and drizzle the lemon juice onto the chicken.  Put the whole shebang back into the oven until cooked to your desired temperature. 

 

 

1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
1/2 teaspoon Moroccan seasoning (You can skip this and just use 1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout)
1 teaspoon Urfa Biber (or other mildly spicy dried pepper)
2 carrots, quartered and sliced
4 green onions, darkest green part removed and sliced thinly
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of cooked chicken meat (I used the leftovers from 
8 leaves kale, main rib removed and cut across into 1" pieces
1/3 cup of pitted kalamata olives
1 large or two small garnet yams
2 medium yellow potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Put large saucepan of salted water onto the stove.  Bring the water to a boil and add the potatoes.  Boil until fork tender and mash with butter and 1/3 cup milk.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan.  Add the green onion and onion.  Cook on medium heat for ~5 minutes, until transluscent.  Add the garlic, ras el hanout, Moroccan seasoning, and urfa biber, along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Cook until the spices begin to stick to the pan and the garlic is aromatic.  Add the carrots and kale and cook until the kale becomes bright green.  Add the chicken and olives and cook until the mixture is warmed through.  Taste and correct salt and pepper as needed.  

Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish and smooth it with the back of a spoon.  Spoon the mashed potatoes over the chicken mixture in tablespoons and smooth with the back of that same spoon.  Cook for 35 minutes.  

Serve with a light green salad with a citrus vinagrette.

Here's a pop-it-in-the-oven-and-ignore-it dinner.  It's flavorful and sophisticated, while being yummy and subtle.  Which is to say that both the gourmets in your family and the ones with plainer palates will enjoy it.

1 4-6 pound chicken
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
15 - 20 olives (I like a combination of oil-brined black and salt-brined green)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (1 large or two small)
1 lemon, zest and 1/2 the juice in one bowl, the other half of the juice in another
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove any giblets, necks, etc. from the cavity and pat the chicken dry.  Salt inside and out.  Mix the zest and juice with the garlic, shallots, olives, and 2 teaspoons of ras el hanout. Either place this mixture in the cavity or place half in the cavity and the other half under the skin.  Rub the chicken with about half of the olive oil and sprinkle all over with the remaining tablespoon of ras el hanout.  Truss, if you feel like it, place the chicken breast down in a roasting dish, and pop into the oven. 

Let the chicken cook until a instant read thermometer tells you that the flesh of the thigh is 160 degrees.  Remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes.  Serve with rice or couscous and roasted vegetables.