a taste of India

I meant to post this last week - since this was my "brown bagged" lunch at the office. I chopped up some veggies (a fennel bulb, turnip, zucchini, eggplant, red onion, red and green peppers) and drizzled them with chopped fresh: garlic, ginger and hot pepper, a splash of red wine vinegar and actual red wine, a bit of olive oil, star anise, indian fennel (thanks for bringing me some from India Mom) and turned the heat up in the oven and baked everything together. not only did it taste great - but the apartment smelt pretty wonderful as well (even Allison thought so).

The inspiration for the veggies was my Indian Chicken - a recipe I haven't made since living in Edinburgh... it was time to bring it out. Super easy, and even if you aren't a huge fan of Indian food - this chicken is so "Canadian Indian" that you'll enjoy it (yep - even you Mel) :0)

Indian spiced chicken
ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. coarse sea salt
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 hot red pepper, finely chopped
1 -inch piece ginger, finely chopped
a good bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 lemon, use the zest and the juice
1/2 c. plain yogurt

Rinse and pat dry your chicken. Then put it in a bowl and cover it with the vinegar and sea salt. Stir well - to combine. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 - 35 minutes (no longer).

In a blender combine everything else. blitz it up. i use a large enough bunch of coriander that my marinade becomes a beautiful bright green.

Taking the chicken out of it's vinegar bath, place the pieces into the yogurt marinade. Make sure that you coat the pieces well. Cover and refrigerate for about 3 - 4 hours.

Grill the well marinaded chicken - it's best to grill over medium-high heat, basting with the marinade (about 20 minutes).

That's it. The marinading time is the longest part of this entire recipe - you'll notice that the rest of it was pretty darn simple (and quick). Serve it over the roasted veggies and with some slivered almonds on top. Enjoy!