Chicken Tagine

Flavorful chicken, chick peas and olives add a lot of character to the dish.
Serves 4.

Moroccan Spice rub
4 chicken thighs, rub moroccan spice and let stand for an hour or 2 in refrigerator

1 small onion, diced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
pepper flakes to taste
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

1/4 white wine
1 tsp tomato paste

1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1 tbsp honey
1 lemon cut into 8 wedges
Salt to taste

Chopped fresh parsley

Toasted Pita bread

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium, add chicken, skin side down. Saute until brown on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove chicken.
Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, cinnamon sticks and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Deglaze with wine and tomato paste and simmer till liquid evaporate.
Add tomato, chicken broth, chickpeas, olives, honey, lemon & chicken. Cover & reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is cooked - 20-25 minutes.
Add salt to taste and garnish with parsley.
Serve with toasted Pita bread.

Spicy Roasted Chicken

I took the traditional roasted chicken recipe and used by Indian spices to jazz it up.
Ingredients:
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 heaping tsp coriander-cumin powder
2 tsp paprika
Coarse salt & pepper to taste
1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs) washed inside & out, patted dry & legs tied
4 carrots, chopped into 2" pieces
2 potatoes (or medium sweet potatoes), sliced into 1/2" slices
1 cup peeled pearl onions
1 lemon (or an Orange) quartered into 8 pieces

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Rub salt and pepper all over the chicken (inside & out). Mix ginger-garlic paste with coriander-cumin powder and rub it on the chicken. Sprinkle paprika all over.
Place the chicken in a cast iron pot. Place the vegetables around and add 1/2 cup of water. Cover the lid tightly and place it in the oven (if using a roasting pan, make sure to use a smaller size where the contents fit tightly and cover it with double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil). Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid (or foil), use a long handled spoon to baste the chicken with liquid from the pan. Bake uncovered for another 30 minutes, basting once more half way through.
Chicken is done if juices run clear when pierced between the breast & thigh. Thermometer in the thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) should read 170 degrees.

Let chicken rest for a bit before carving. Serve with vegetables from the side and a hearty bread to soak up the juices from the bottom of the pan.