One of the first cookbooks my mum (a wonderful cook who could make anything tasty) gave me was Madhur Jaffrey’s “ A Taste of India”. It wasn’t the first book of hers that I read. Mum would by her cookbooks whenever she could. She used to tell me if you want to understand Indian cooking, she explains it best. This is one of Madhur Jaffrey’s recipes and actually one of two blogs – to be released separately. Simplicity and perfection – no wonder she is the queen of Indian Cooking. This is her baked chicken curry recipe from one of her older cookbooks – “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey”. Part 2 of this blog, the Dal (lentil) recipe will be posted on Friday!

It does require planning as an overnight marinade is recommended – by the Chef and me. If you don’t have time for an overnight marinade, at least 2 hours in the fridge, 30 minutes on the counter before baking.  You could also use boneless/skinless chicken thighs, not as rich a taste without the skin and bones, but it will still work – read “yum!”.  The marinade is a blend of black pepper, lemon, ginger, garlic, yogurt, onion and five other spices. Like tandoori chicken, the yogurt/spice mix tenderizes the meat and allows for absorption of the spices. All you need to do is bring it to room temperature – about 30 minutes on the counter, then spread it out on a baking tray and put it in the oven. Oh my gosh, talk about easy clean-up. As as aside, I added parboiled potatoes (rubbed in olive oil, salt and pepper – it would be amazing if I thought to rub the potatoes in some marinade before using it all on the chicken) to the chicken before putting it in the oven.

A hot oven yields a delightfully cooked chicken with a flavorful crispy skin – all that baked on marinade. It can be served with plain white rice, naan, chapatti or dal. I’ve pictured it with a superbly easy dal recipe, it’s embarrassing to call it a recipe. I made this with chicken thighs as that’s what I had – pantry cooking. The chicken releases some wonderful juices that could pass as a flavorful curry for the rice or naan. Not traditional curry, but curry flavored juices – oh my goodness so good!! The original recipe is below with my annotations in italics as always. As always – stay safe, stay healthy and enjoy!

2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces, dark and white meat – I used 6 large bone in/skin on thighs
1 tsp table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
2 tsps. finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1 1/2 tbsp. ground coriander
2 tsps. ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
6 green cardamom pods, lightly squished between your fingers
A little canola or plain olive oil for basting
1 small onion, thinly sliced

Place the chicken pieces into a large freezer bag and rub well with salt, pepper and lemon juice – let sit for 20 minutes
Make the marinade by combining the ginger, garlic, yogurt, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and cardamom in a bowl
After 20 minutes, add the marinade to the chicken and rub all over – place the bag on a plate/bowl and put in the refrigerator overnight – or do this first thing in the morning and refrigerate until ready to cook later in the afternoon
When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge and bring to room temperature – about 30 minutes on the counter
Rub the sliced onion in a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper – set aside
Heat the oven to 400f
Arrange the chicken on a parchment or foil lined rimmed baking tray or use a casserole dish (no lining needed)
Brush/drizzle some olive oil on top, sprinkle the thinly sliced onion over the chicken (and potatoes) and bake for 30 minutes
If you wanted to add some vegetables, this would be a good time to do this – I used parboiled mini potatoes – but anything would work
After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and baste with the juices – if you added potatoes, this would be a good time to gently smash or slice them, baste with juices and return to the oven
Return to the oven and continue baking for another 10 – 15 minutes – use a thermometer 165f is what you are looking for or just cut into the chicken piece close to the bone, it should not be pink!
Serve with rice, flatbread and/or dal