Madhur Jaffrey's Delicious Chicken Bits

Way back last year...I began reading Madhur Jaffrey's autobiography, Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India.  I never finished reading it...I'm not sure why, but I just couldn't get into it.  Weird...since I can sit with one of her cookbooks and read for hours.  But that's just the way I am with books(not of the cookbook variety)...I just can't seem to finish reading them.  I have about twenty half-read books on my Kindle.  And I told myself I can't buy anymore until I finish the ones that I already have.

And first on my list Madhur Jaffrey's biography...I figured it would be a good excuse to cook some of her recipes...as if I really needed an excuse, but anyway.  So this weekend I started reading again from the begining and I have hardly put it down.  I read it last night just before bed with hopes of having dreams of fried pooris, the juiciest mangoes, the smell of freshly ground spices...but no dreams...well if I did I didn't remember it.

But it is much better to eat food in real life, than to dream about it!

These Delicious Chicken Bits were the first of Madhur's recipes I have tried and I have probably made them ten times...mainly because they are so easy and delicious...as they are named.  They are a perfect appetizer, great on a salad, and even good cold.  The flavor is not so specifically Indian...so even if you don't love Indian food as much as me, you will still enjoy these.  Do wash them down with a strawberry lassi.

Delicious Chicken Bits
adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking

1 & 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme (or 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbs vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut each chicken breast into 3/4-inch to 1-inch pieces.  Place in a bowl and add the black pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and 1 tablespoon of oil.  Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes or longer.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over very high heat.  When the oil is very hot, put in the chicken.  Stir-fry until the chicken pieces are lightly browned or turn opaque on the outside.  Put in a baking dish, cover loosely with lightly oiled waxed paper or foil (which should sit inside the dish and directly on the chicken pieces), and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through.  If not to be eaten immediately, remove the chicken pieces from the hot baking dish to prevent them from drying out.

My note: I usually skip the step of placing the in the oven and just cook them a little longer in the skillet, just be sure the chicken is cooked through.