Did y'all miss me? : Annalena goes Indian. sort of

Well, I'm back. And with any luck, staying.
Ah, ragazzi, it has been a trying six weeks or so. I guess we all go through periods where we wonder "what is next? Can I handle it? Is it worth it?" And the energy that goes into figuring out the answers to those questions is so total, that there's no time for things like, well, writing cooking blogs. I will, perhaps , fill you in on some of the details as I get back into the swing of things, but for now, let's all cook together again. I HAVE missed you. And I will try to give you as much new in the recipe field as I can.
I think you know by now that while my cooking milieu is solidly in Italy and the mediterranean, I do like to step out from time to time, and to play with different flavors, from different cooking styles. I have talked about how true Indian food defeats me. I just do not have a flair for it. But there are recipes that hint at the classic techniques of a cuisine, without emmeshing you in those techniques fully. Think (ok, try not to think) of "Olive Garden." It's a bad example on some levels, but on others, the idea works. NONE of what they serve there is Italian. "Shrimp alfredo?" My stomach recoils at the thought. BUT... for someone who is not an Italian food purist, perhaps this is as close as it gets. So, I will beg indulgence from those who love and prepare good, solid authentic Indian food as I present this recipe. And I will also ask you to invite me over and show me how to do it properly.
This recipe was introduced to me as "quick tandoori chicken thighs." When I read the recipe, the "quick" part of it really bothered me. From what little I know of Indian cooking, the slow, careful infusion of spices is critical to it. Good Indian cooking does not stun you with brassy, raw spices. So while I liked the idea of the spices and the marinade, I did not like the quickness, which said, originally to put the chicken in the marinade and let it sit for all of about five minutes.

RUBBISH.

Also, on reflection, the original recipe was underspiced. There were hints of the flavors you associate with Indian food, but it could have used more. So, here I'm kicking the flavors up.

Yet another change. The recipe called for low fat yogurt. Well, let me say this: fat is a carrier of the oils that come out of spices. You want more flavor? Use the real thing. For the amount of yogurt you're going to eat, if the low fat versus full fat version is making a difference, don't eat this dish. And , finally, the recipe called for grilling. Annalena, in her large, but not huge NY apartment, does not have access to a barbecuing grill. So she adapted the recipe for oven cooking . It works.

You use the most underused and neglected part of the chicken here: thighs, on the bone, with their skin. You could also use drumsticks or full legs. Do use dark meat though, and keep things on the bone. The flavor is better.

You will probably need to go to the store to buy spices for this, but all of the spices that are in the recipe are things you can use in other recipes. Tumeric , for example, is terrific on roasted potatoes. Garam masala on green beans. Coriander in creamy stuff as a dip. So, let's get going.

In a bowl, mix up a cup of yogurt - I used sheep's milk, with the juice of one lemon, and two tablespoons of fresh ginger, minced as fine as you can without getting microscopic about it. Don't worry about peeling it. Then, add the same amount of minced garlic, but do peel that. Add 2 teaspoons of tumeric, one of g round coriander, one of ground cumin and one of garam masala. Add salt and pepper. You will be "eyeballing" this. I would say you want this saltier than you would like , if you were eating the yogurt in a bowl, as yogurt.

Now, put this stuff in a plastic bag and add eight chicken thighs. Put that bag in another bag, seal the package, scrunch things up, and then put it in a bowl, and in the fridge for at least one, and as long as three days.

You can do this. The instructions above took you all of about 4 minutes to carry out, didn't they? I t hought so.

When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. If you have a grill pan, oil it up with vegetable oil and get it nice and hot. If not, use a big frying pan and slick it with oil. Take the chicken out of the marinade, but don't worry about pushing all the stuff off. It's best if some stays on. When the oil is hot, put the chicken skin side down and pan fry or grill, for 3-4 minutes, until you get some good color. Then turn it around and cook for another 3 minutes. If your pan isn't big enough to do all of them (most aren't), do this in batches.

Move the chicken, skin side UP, to a baking sheet (don't grease it), and roast for about 30 minutes. You can get away with longer cooking here, because the thighs are very juicy. So are the legs.

And that's all there is to it. You probably want to serve this with saffron, or white rice, or maybe some tumeric potatoes (you know how to make them, don't you? If you don't, tell me and we'll do them together. It's another absurdly easy thing to do, where the only thing you have to worry about is getting your fingers dyed that dark yellow color).

There's something kind of funny about returning with an Indian recipe. Such is life. I hope you missed me. I missed you.