Spiced Lime Chicken

June 11, 2001

Nobody is shifting far from a heater in our house today. One of the sons has just phoned in from Dunedin where he's at university to tell us it's snowing. My immediate reaction was to recall the rather drastic haircut I hear he had recently. I believe his red locks have been sheared within a centimetre of his scalp. But he assures me he has a woolly hat.

The meteorologists are telling us we're in for a cold winter and I am beginning to believe them. The ski season started last weekend with plenty of sunshine and good snow and the ski racks are appearing on all the local four-wheel drive vehicles.

I have lived in various parts of New Zealand but I've only ever seen snow in the backyard twice - once when I was 15 and living in Dunedin and once about six years ago in Wellington, which "never" gets snow. It's been known to snow here in Christchurch so I am rather hoping we'll get some this winter.

Of course I've walked on snow when we've flown up onto a couple of New Zealand's West Coast glaciers but as for seeing snow actually fall, I've had to watch it on TV and wonder what it's really like. A deprived life, indeed.

Naturally when the temperature drops, we start looking for comfort food. The following recipe is for a spicy chicken dish with a tasty sharp sauce. Ideal for a chilly winter's night.

Spiced Lime Chicken

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
plain flour
1/2 cup chicken stock (use stock powder dissolved in hot water)
1/4 cup lemon juice
a handful of black olives
1 lime, thinly sliced

Mix together the coriander, spices, salt and garlic and spoon mixture onto the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with flour and place in a shallow baking dish. Stir together stock and lemon juice and pour over chicken. Add the lime slices and olives.

Bake uncovered about an hour in a pre-heated 180C oven, spooning liquid over chicken occasionally until the chicken is cooked and tender. The liquid and spices will form a tasty gravy.

Serve with rice and a green vegetable.