African Chicken in Spicy Red Sauce

Beautiful BC's Note:

This recipe is from the October 2006 issue of Cooking Light. It's very tasty! The original recipe calls for using breast halves, drumsticks and thighs. I just used skinned, boneless breasts. Also, used olive oil instead of cooking spray. This is their description - " This flavourful Ethipian-inspired chicken stew uses Berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend. Store extra spice mix covered in a cool, dark place for up to two weeks. Use leftovers on Salmon, flank steak, or chicken for fiery flavour. Serve with basmati rice. **prep time includes marinating time *Additional tip*- MaidinAfrica suggested swirling a bit of plain yogurt on top just before serving so we tried that - it's really good and the contrast of colours swirled together makes for a very pretty presentation!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Chicken

• 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
• ¾ teaspoon salt , divided
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 ½ cups chopped onions (2 medium)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 4 lemon wedges

Berbere (use 2 teaspoons)

• 2 tablespoons ground red pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. Berbere:.
2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Yields 1/4 cup. Serving size is 1 teaspoons.
3. Chicken:.
4. Place chicken in a shallow dish; drizzle with juice, and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes (do not brown), stirring frequently.
6. Add 2 tsp Berbere, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, butter, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom, cook 1 minute.
7. Add wine, broth, and tomato paste; stir until well blended.
8. Add chicken mixture; bring to a boil.
9. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until chicken is tender, turning chicken occasionally.
10. Stir in cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.

Reviews

[Leggy Peggy]

Delicious! My daughter and I made this on two separate nights and were both thrilled with the results. To extend the number of servings, I added some diced zucchini in the last 20 minutes. Yummo!

[Chef #738454]

Very good. I made it exactly as stated and was very pleased! We were wanting something spicy for dinner and this hit the spot!

[Its Me Busy Bee]

I made Jasmine rice to soak up the sauce and we really loved it! I served some Greek yogurt on the side to dip my chicken in as I ate. Yum!