Garam Masala Chicken: Bloggers Around the World go to India #Healthy Eating #Weekly Menu Plan

Once upon a time in the 1980's during a period of airline deregulation a young college girl would regularly jump on a flight to Paris or Amsterdam for anywhere between $59 - $99 each way. Yes, those of you who have only lived during this time of barefoot check ins... there once was a golden period of cheap air travel. Alas, I now enjoy the world by traveling through the world's cuisines. So on every 13th of the month come travel with me and my fellow adventurous food bloggers to another country and taste its' cuisine.

For my maiden voyage I crossed the world to India, who's cuisine is as vast and diverse as this country. Indian food is known for it's varied use of spices, yogurt, and curries. Some areas of this country eat predominately vegetarian. The meat eating sections stick to mostly chicken and lamb, the consumption of beef is against the law in some regions because it is prohibited in the Hindu religion and Muslims don't eat pork.

When researching for a dish to make for this post my attention was taken by a very popular spice mix called Garam Masala. It is used in many dishes and because this is a Simple Living blog and I wanted to share a simple recipe with you; I choose this spice mix as both an example of a classic Indian flavoring, and because it is simpler to use a spice mix when cooking then having to measure out each individual spice.

Just so you know Garam Masala is typically made up of: pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamon... but everyone in India has their family's secret way of making it.

So please relax, put on some sitar music and enjoy this India meal.

Garam Masala Chicken

by Diane Balch

simplelivingeating.com

preparation 10 minutes put together, 2 hours in fridge cook time: 1 hour

serves: 4

Ingredients:

2.5 - 3 pounds of chicken pieces: drumsticks and thighs

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon of fresh ginger minced

1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro minced

1 teaspoon of salt

pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Whisk: garam masala, ginger, cilantro, salt and pepper together with yogurt.

2) Dip each piece of chicken into yogurt mixture and coat all over. Put into a 9x13 inch baking dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours up to overnight.

3) When you are ready to cook the chicken pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake chicken for about 1 hour or until the skin is lightly brown and the juice runs clear when you poke it with a fork.

Great served with the following dishes:

Warmer Weather Sides: