today I am thinking about...

Indian chicken with lemon slices and fried onions, from www.gardenersgastronomy.blogspot.com, who said it was basically from a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook that the cook has (I want to give credit where credit is due - I'd hate to be accused of plagiarizing). I made it last night for Billy and I, seeing as how Steve was in Beulah eloquently speaking to a group of 70 delegates. I served it with lentils, brown rice, and steamed spinach. It maybe shouldn't have made me as happy as it did, but I can't stop thinking about it. How much fun it was to make it (it only took an hour), how good it smelled, and how good it tasted in my mouth. I don't know if it's me, or if it WAS just the food, but it was a, well, heavenly experience. I want to share it with you, my dear friends:

Indian Chicken with lemon slices and fried onions

Serves 4-6

6-8 chicken pieces
3 medium-size onions
1 inch cube of ginger, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped (or more if you love it like I do)
8 T. olive oil
1 T. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. turmeric (good for your memory)
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t. salt (or none if you like)
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves (ahhhhh....)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 whole lemon
freshly ground pepper
2 T yogurt

Peel the onions. Chop two of them into fourths and put them into a food processor. Cut the third one in half lengthwise, then slice it into thin half-rounds and set aside.

Add 6 T. of water, the ginger and the garlic to the onions in the food processor and blend at high speed until you have a smooth paste.

Heat 6 T. of the oil in a pot on medium high. When hot, put in the onions and fry them until they are darkish brown and crisp (not burned). Remove and put in a bowl.

Remove skin from all chicken pieces. Divide legs into drumstick and thigh (if not separated already), and quarter the breasts (if you wish). In the same oil, brown the chicken pieces on all sides until golden brown. Remove them to a bowl.

Add the remaining 2 T. of oil to the pot. Pour in the past from the blender (keep your face averted). Stirring, fry on medium high heat until paste turns a nice golden brown. Put in the coriander, cumin, and turmeric and fry a little more. Add yogurt, a teaspoon at a time, then the tomato paste, stirring all the wile. Finally, add salt, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper, and a pint of water (2 cups). Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Cut the lemon into 4 or 5 slices, discarding the end pieces, and remove the seeds. Add lemon slices (it's pretty strong lemony if you add ALL of the slices, so if you're not totally keen on lemon, you might want to add less than the whole), along with the chicken pieces, fried onions, and freshly ground pepper to the sauce; stir, and bring to a boil.

Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is tender, turning them every now and then. If the chicken sticks to the bottom of the pot (mine didn't), add a little more water. You will get a very thick sauce.

I served this alongside the brown rice, lentils and steamed spinach, pouring some sauce over the rice. It's incredible - just smelling it will make you happy. I promise.