Cooking Chicken With Moroccon Cooking And Moroccon Spices

Moroccon Chicken Ingredients:

2, 3 pound whole chicken cut into half, backbones removed
1, 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons cumin, ground
2 tablespoons harissa, purchased
1 ½ tablespoons coriander, ground
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly extracted
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon saffron threads
2 teaspoons salt
½ stick butter, approximately ¼ cup
3 cups onions, minced
4 cups or more water, tap water
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Method:

1. Heat a dry, heavy small skillet over medium heat; stir caraway seeds in it for about one minute or till the seeds impart a typical fragrance. Transfer the seeds to a container of food processor and let it stand for 5 minutes. Add harrisa, ground cumin, ground coriander, fresh lemon juice, paprika, olive oil, salt, garlic, ginger and saffron threads to the container. Sprinkle water if needed. Process to get a coarse paste. Rub this paste all over the chicken halves thoroughly.
2. Place a large pot over medium heat and add butter. As the butter is about to melt add onions and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or till they begin to soften. Add the rubbed chicken halves in the pot, sauté well for about a minute. Now add 4 cups water in the pot to cover the chicken, if more is needed then add more. Boil chicken in this water, after a boil cover the pot and simmer on low to medium heat and cook chicken until it is tender and no longer pink, for about 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the chicken occasionally for even cooking and to prevent burning from one side. As the chicken is cooked, transfer it on a baking sheet with its skin side up.
3. Add chopped cilantro in the liquid pot and boil the contents for bout 15 to 20 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to about 3 cups. Sprinkle salt as per taste.
4. Meanwhile as the liquid is boiling, preheat broiler and broil chicken for about 5 to 6 minutes or until it gets a nice golden brown color. Transfer the golden chicken to a serving platter and serve with braising liquid in a bowl. This recipe makes 6 servings.

Health Tip:

• Moroccan chicken is a low calorie, diabetes friendly recipe.
• To reduce the total fats along with cholesterol and saturated fats prefer using chicken without the skin. This minute change will further help to reduce the total calories of this recipe.