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.

Morroccan Spice rub

Makes enough for 4 servings of meat

1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne (less if you prefer low spice)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)
Salt to taste

Mix and use it as run on chicken or lamb.

Lamb Shawarma

I first came across Lamb Shawarma recipe in Food & Wine magazine. Chef Chris Hanna's recipe had intense, strong flavor with complex spices hitting your palate just right. Since then, I have modified the recipe and made it simpler to use. I have also started cooking it in oven instead of grill. I use a cast iron skillet, so I can transfer it from oven to the cook top to finish the roasting. You can use any roasting pan that you can transfer from oven to cook top.

This recipe cooks enough for 3 people, with some leftovers for late afternoon snack next day.

Ingredients:
2 lb boneless leg of lamb
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt & ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp coriander powder (or ground coriander seeds)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala (this Indian spice is optional - add it for spicier version)

Ingredients for roasted onion and pepper:
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 tsp canola oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp coriander powder (or ground coriander seeds)

Mix all the ingredients, except the lamb together to create the marinade.
Cut the lamb into thin slices. Coat it completely with the marinade. Cover it and refrigerate at least overnight, or preferably, for 1-2 days.
Heat the oven to 475F. Keep the cast iron skillet in the oven to heat. When the oven is preheated, pull the skillet out, layer the lamb in it (make sure it's a single layer - you may have to cook it in phases depending on the size of your skillet), top it with marinade, cover it with aluminum foil, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cook on the cook top till all the water is absorbed. Cook some more to brown the meat.

After keeping the lamb in the oven, mix onion, green pepper and other ingredients for roasted onion and pepper on a baking tray. Keep it in the oven on a separate shelf while the lamb is cooking. Cook for 30 minutes, turning once.

Serve Lamb Shawarma with roasted onion & green peppers, yogurt-tahini sauce and Syrian pita bread.