Ingredients
- 1 chicken (medium sized), cut into serving pieces, (or use 8 chicken thighs, with bones and skin left on)
- 50 ml olive oil
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- ½ to 1 tsp powdered ginger
- ½ tsp turmeric
- powdered chili pepper, to taste
- 2 onions, chopped
- 5 to 8 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and cut into strips
- 400g canned chopped tomatoes, including their juice
- juice of 3 lemons
- 250 ml chicken broth
- 1 lemon, cut into small wedges
- 250 ml chicken stock
- 250g green olives
- handful of black olives, as desired (optional)
- salt and black pepper
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Step 2
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then brown lightly in the olive oil.
Step 3
As the chicken is cooking, once lightly browned, sprinkle with the cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, and chili powder.
Step 4
Add the onions, garlic and coriander; sauté for another few minutes, mixing together well so that all the chicken is cloaked in the spice mixture.
Step 5
Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Put the pan aside for a few moments, to deglaze.
Step 6
Add the roasted red pepper strips, tomatoes with their juice, half the lemon juice, the broth and the lemon wedges to the baking dish.
Step 7
Deglaze: Pour the stock into the pan you browned the chicken and spices in. Stir to incorporate the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, cook until the liquid has reduced to about 4-6 tablespoons, then pour over the chicken in the baking dish. All of the liquid—including the tomatoes—should come about two thirds of the way up of the chicken.
Step 8
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is just about tender, and the liquid has evaporated slightly to make a rich sauce.
Step 9
Add the olives and mix into the sauce.
Step 10
If sauce is thick, add the remaining lemon juice. If it’s too liquid, pour into a saucepan, skin off any fat, and bring to the boil. Cook until reduced to a thick, flavourful sauce. Remove from heat, add the remaining lemon juice; pour over the chicken.
