Delhi Style Baked Chicken Legs

I recently read in one of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks that ginger and coriander are ingredients that remind her of eating in Delhi.  Using this idea as inspiration I have come up with the following dish that my whole family loved.  I used ten drumsticks for this recipe and the ingredient list below reflects that.  If you use more or less chicken then you may need to adjust accordingly.  I'm sure this recipe would work equally well other cuts of chicken also.

What you will need:

• 10 chicken drumsticks
• 2 - 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup chopped fresh coriander
• freshly ground black pepper
• salt (optional)

What you need to do:

 1.  In a small measuring jug or bowl, combine the olive oil, ginger, spices, pepper, salt and coriander.  Mix well.

2.  In a large baking tray spread out the chicken and then coat evenly with the marinade mixture.  Don't be afraid to use your hands to rub the mixture into the chicken.

3.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours but you can leave it overnight if you are organised.

4.  Place the chicken in an oven heated to about 190 Celcius for about an hour.  To be honest, my oven is barely working and so in a decent oven this time may be different.  Just keep an eye on the chicken.  After about 20 minutes, turn the pieces over.  At this stage a lot of juices will have run out of the meat and this can be collected with a large spoon and put aside to make a sauce.   After a further 20 minutes, repeat the process, turn the chicken and take out any extra juices.

 

5.  When the chicken is almost ready to go, skim the oil of the top of the collected juices and then put them in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer and cook until they reduce to a saucey consistency.

6. Serve the chicken with rice, dahl and some green vegetables with the sauce on the side for dipping.

For this meal I cooked the beans by frying a small clove of garlic and half a teaspoon of ground cumin for about 20 seconds and then adding the beans and frying another 30 seconds.  I then added a small amount of water and covered, steaming until the beans were cooked.  The dahl is my yellow split pea dahl - recipe is coming soon.