Curried Baked Chicken Thighs

I've been making these all spring, with either the spice combination listed below or some of the Madras curry powder I mixed up a while back. I'm actually pretty happy with how that curry powder has turned out. The chicken is very good both ways.

I like putting the paste under the skin because that way you get crispy, crunchy, tasty skin, and also the paste is right on the meat. That way those annoying people who promptly peel off the skin and discard it when served roasted chicken (you know who you are!) still get the benefit of the paste as well.

These got a little overly brown because damn, it takes a long time to shell enough peas for 3 people. Next time I will have to start sooner.

Since I only wanted 4 chicken thighs cooked I put half the paste into a little tub and froze it. That's where the next round of chicken thighs are; I will just take them both out to thaw at once, making the next Curried Baked Chicken Thigh dinner very easy and straightforward. Unless I serve peas.   

6 to 8 servings
1 hour 20 minutes - 20 minutes prep time

Make the Sauce:
2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
OR
2 teaspoons coriander seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
 AND
1/4 cup peeled, sliced, fresh ginger
4 to 6 cloves of garlic
the juice of 1 small lemon or large lime
1/4 cup thick plain yogurt

Make the curry powder according to the recipe, or grind the coriander and cumin seed. Put them into a food processor, whichever you are using; all the spices if not the curry powder. If your food processor has a smaller bowl, so much the better; use it.

Peel and slice the ginger and garlic. Add them to the bowl of the food processor and process until quite smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Once you have a reasonably smooth paste, add the lemon or lime juice and process again. When smooth, add the yogurt and process again. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Finish the Dish:
6 large or 8 medium skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
salt

Carefully lift the skin along one edge of a thigh, pulling it away from the meat all over but leaving it attached at the edges as much as possible. Using a large spatula or shallow spoon, spoon in 1/6th or 1/8th of the curry paste, depending on the number of chicken thighs you have. Spread it to the edges as much as possible, but don't worry about it too much - it will tend to spread a bit on its own. Put it into a shallow baking pan of sufficient size to hold the thighs fairly snugly. Repeat with the remaining chicken thighs. You can cook them at once, or cover them and return them to the fridge for up to 24 hours; take them out to warm up a bit when you turn the oven to preheat.

Roast the chicken thighs for approximately 1 hour, until golden brown and crispy, and cooked through.




Last year at this time I made Lentil Salad with Peas & Purslane. 

Posted in: Ontario Food