We love East Indian food. And I know the main reason is because of the spices. And the spice mix – garam masala is one of our favorite spice combinations. So yesterday when I found myself with a couple of small packages of chicken in the freezer that really needed to be used, I thought of making a tandoori chicken or butter chicken for dinner. I went on line and found a couple of great recipes for said dishes. But of course, there always seem to be obstacles to my best laid plans, and this time was no different. Tandoori chicken requires a 24 hour marinating time, and butter chicken requires bite sized pieces of meat, neither of which I had available. So, never being one to let a little problem like time or ingredient get in my way when I am in the mood for a certain type of food, I decided to search under one of the ingredients that was common to both tandoori and butter chicken. (Besides the chicken itself, of course!) And that ingredient was “garam masala”.

After much research and nail biting, I stumbled upon Aida Mollenkamp’s recipe for Garam Masala Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and adjusted it to fit my needs.

So here ladies and gentlemen is my rendition (oops, that’s a musical term) – my take on Aida’s lovely recipe. It is easy to prepare and tastes like a million dollars. And best of all, Mr. C. absolutely loved this chicken at first bite. Love it when a plan comes together!

Recipes for Tandoori Chicken and Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) to follow within the next few weeks.

• ¼ c. canola oil
• 4 tsp. garam masala spice mix
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, minced
• 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 8 skinless, bone in pieces of chicken
• ¼ c. plain yogurt or sour cream

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the canola oil, garam masala, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken, stir making sure every piece is thoroughly coated with the marinade. Refrigerate from 1-2 hours. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. (Save any marinade that remains in the bowl.) Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile add the yogurt to the remaining marinade. Set aside. Remove the chicken from the oven and lightly brush each piece with half of the yogurt/marinade mixture. Turn the chicken, and brush with remaining mixture. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until the chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (If you have a convection option on your oven, use convection heat for the last 15 minutes of baking time.) Let chicken rest at least 5 minutes before serving.