19 ounces canned chick peas
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Tamarind Chutney (optional)

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and fry the spices to release their aromas, about 15 seconds.
2. Reduce heat to medium and saute onion until tender.
3. Add the chick peas, cover and continue to cook for about 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

1 pound skinless chicken pieces (legs, thighs, backs and/or wings)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
1 tablespoon garlic puree
1 tablespoon ginger puree
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
2 teaspoons Garam Masala powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
1 tablespoon dried red chilies (optional)

1. Grind spices together and mix with yogurt and lemon to make a marinade.
2. Prick the chicken many times with a fork.
3. Cover in the marinade and refrigerate overnight.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and spread evenly with butter.
5. Heat a grill or cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot.
6. Add the chicken and grill for about 3 minutes, then turn 45 degrees and grill for another 3 minutes.
7. Add the chicken and grill for 10 minutes, then flip and continue to grill until juices run clear.

Makes 4 servings

6 small apples, cored
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup apple juice

4 ounces tamarind
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Prepare chutney by mashing tamarind with water in a small bowl until pulp is softened.
2. Force the pulp through a sieve into a small saucepan. Discard the seeds and thick fibers.
3. Add sugar to the tamarind liquid and cook over low heat, stirring just until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
4. Toast the seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant and browned.
5. Cool the seeds, grind them and stir into the tamarind mixture with the remaining ingredients.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Combine tamarind chutney and dates in a bowl.
8. Place the apples in a square baking dish and fill their centers with the chutney and dates.
9. Add apple juice to the dish and bake, basting every 15 minutes, until tender, about 45 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

I braved the cold Canadian winter and did myself some barbecuing tonight and prepared some Grilled Tandoori Chicken. I'm not a very good barbecuer, in part because I don't have a very good barbecue and in part because fire kind of scares me. I'm always afraid of burning things, even though that charred taste is what makes people love barbecue in the first place. To me, burnt is bad. It's what happens when you cook things the wrong way. Unlike with barbecue sauce where it's the sugar that burns on the grill, the tandoori marinade is based on yogurt and aromatic spices so that char was either singed fat or seared in flavor. My new grilling motto: the blackest parts are the bestest parts (it's a work in progress). Not only did barbecuing remind me of the summer, but this chicken was awesome. Shannon had hers with some leftover Lemon Rice Pilaf and I had mine with the Thai Coconut Rice.

Since I finally opened the package of tamarind I've had in my cupboard in order to prepare the Roasted Garlic and Chili Oil for the Suit and Thai Event, I figured I should come up with more ways to use the tamarind before it dries up to nothing. I cut 1/4 out of the block in order to make tamarind chutney, which I managed to squeeze into 2 different dishes; one sweet and one savory.

The savory dish was Indian Chick Peas. The pan-fried spices mixed with the chutney often overlapped and not only filled the kitchen with wonderful aromas, but also gave the chick peas a pungent flavor that just pleasantly lingered in the mouth rather than having that sometimes overpowering bite often accompanied with curried flavors.

We bought a 5 kilogram (that's like 11 pounds, I think) box of apples of yesterday for 3 dollars and I'm trying to figure out ways to use those up, too. I figured I'd try the tamarind and apples together and thus become my sweet dish, Baked Apples with Tamarind Chutney. It's not often that I eat something, pause and have to
consider just what it is that I'm eating. Shannon looked at me quizzically; "Is it good?" she asked. Well, it's different.

Eating cumin in a dessert seems like something a pregnant woman would crave and it seemed to be what was throwing me off
while eating it. The apples were good, the chutney was good, but eating them together was baffling my taste buds. It wasn't until after eating them that I was finally able to sum things up a bit better. When all was said and done, a pleasant aftertaste of cloves, cinnamon and smoky heat lingered in my mouth. It was like I'd just done a shot of Fireball or Hot 100.