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Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas and Spinach adapted from Bon Appetit

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         While we’re all anxiously awaiting Spring, Winter weather is still in our forecast.  Cold temperatures and Indian-inflected dishes seem made for each other.  This dish, which appeared in last month’s Bon Appetit, really drives that point home.  It’s a rich stew full of the aromas of the sub-continent but without most of the heat that gives Indian food its reputation for spice.  It’s all in one pot and if you serve it with Naan, that’s all you’ll need.  But Basmati Rice would make a great accompaniment too.   I’ve been a fan of Indian cooking ever since I was kid and working in London for a summer.  Believe it or not, the British national dish is said to be Chicken Tikka Masala, a colonial era import from, where else, India. One thing that seems universal in how Indians prepare chicken is that they inevitably skin the bird.  Since I find this a very tedious thing to do, I was pleased to see that our local Whole Foods sells skinned chicken parts.  Not just any chicken parts either but air-chilled chicken parts! (To see why that is important you only need read   https://chewingthefat.us.com/2012/09/vinegar-braised-chicken-on-bed-of-leeks.html.)  But as to why Indians always skin their chickens, I went to an expert.

                  Suvir Saran was born in New Dehli.  At age 21, he came to study at New York’s School of Visual Arts.   Home cooking for his classmates led him away from his artistic pursuits and straight into the food business.  He opened a catering company called Rasoi, The Indian Kitchen.  (Rasoi means “The Kitchen” in Hindi).  A few years later, he went on staff at New York University’s Professional Development and Continuing Education Program in their Department of Food and Nutrition.   I became aware of Suvir when I went to Devi, his beautiful Indian restaurant at 8 East 18th Street (Tel: 212 691 1300).  One side of its menu is completely vegetarian, the other for omnivores like me. In addition to being Executive Chef at Devi, Suvir has authored 3 cookbooks – “Indian Home Cooking” Clarkson Potter 2004, “American Masala” Clarkson Potter 2007 and “Masala Farm” Chronicle Books 2011.  The latter is named for the Chef’s 70 acre American Masala Farm which he shares with his partner Charlie, in Hebron New York. I wrote the Chef for an explanation for all that skinless chicken in Indian recipes: Suvir wrote back:Monte – the main reason was for marinating the chicken even more deeply with the flavors and aromatics we add in our cooking.”  This makes a lot of sense. To really get flavor into the chicken, you need to get past the skin. Thank you Suvir!  Here’s the recipe:



2 thoughts on “Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas and Spinach adapted from Bon Appetit”

  • When we got home last night and saw the weather map, I realized how little you need a winter warmer upper! Most unfortunately is still darn cold here. We were hoping to come home to Spring but looks like that is at the very least a week away. Do try this sometime.

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