Blackberry Jam and Tandoori Chicken

Greetings,

We had a chilly spring here in the Northeast followed by a number of days where the sun was literally blocked out by the smoke that drifted south from the Canadian wildfires. Before the air turned acrid and I fully realized what was causing the haze I noticed how the mountains in the distance were almost disappearing from view. I set up my easel across from this field in the parking lot of an abandoned A&P where the cars on Route 31 create a constant drone. The scene that I painted may look bucolic, but I almost feel that I am deceiving the viewer since the scene is close to traffic and a strip mall. The field in the foreground turned out to be planted with corn. In late June it looked as if it was behind schedule, perhaps because of the cold or the haze, but it grew to “knee high by the Fourth of July”.

For the holiday weekend, my husband and I were in upstate New York. We went for a hike along a path next to some little-used railroad tracks and were pleasantly surprised to find blackberry bushes with the fruit just ripening. The berries also seemed to be slightly off schedule as in New Jersey our wild blackberries do not ripen until after the raspberries come along in mid-July. I think that these were perhaps a different variety. We went home with about two cups of delicious wild blackberries. The next morning I dumped the berries in a saucepan with the juice of half a lemon and four packets of sugar from Dunkin’. After about twenty minutes on medium heat, the kitchen was fragrant from cooking the sweet fruit and we had jam for toast.

Over the same weekend, we also barbecued Tandoori Chicken on the grill. My first exposure to Indian food was when I lived in a brownstone on East Sixth Street in the East Village of New York City during my last year of college with two roommates. The south side of the street was lined with Indian restaurants where the food was delicious and inexpensive. At that time, in the late 70s, the East Village was bohemian and considered somewhat unsafe. My dad was loathe to unpack the car after bringing me into the city. Undoubtedly, the exposed brick walls and uneven wood floors that my roommates and I found charming were eclipsed by the roaches and the fact that the ceiling in the apartment above had partially collapsed leaving the tub full of rubble. Both my parents eventually grew accustomed to the area and were appreciative of certain aspects and visited often. That first brownstone was purchased a few years ago by a celebrity of sitcom fame who converted the pre-Civil War building into a single-family unit stripping it of all its original charm, in my opinion.

The Tandoori Chicken recipe is from Jane Brody’s book Good Food Gourmet. Brody wrote a weekly column in the science section of the New York Times for many years before retiring in 2022. Her articles focused on health issues related to nutrition and exercise and often had a personal connection. Her recipe calls for chicken parts, I generally use just thighs. For the weekend I mistakenly picked up boneless thighs and the chicken was a bit dry. I was glad that I had some lime on hand. Her recipe is for use in the broiler which is easier to control I find than grilling.

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients

Marinade:

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 T. finely grated ginger root

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 T. paprika

1 1/2 t. coriander

1 1/2 t. cumin

1 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

3/4 t. cayenne, or to taste

6 pounds chicken thighs, bone-in, skinned

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the marinade ingredients.

2. Slash the chicken one inch deep at intervals. Coat the chicken pieces with marinade, rubbing some of the marinade into the slashes. Place the chicken in a bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least six hours and up to 1 day.

3. Oil the broiler rack, and place it six inches from the heat. Preheat the broiler.

4. Place the chicken pieces on the rack, and broil the chicken for 20 minutes on one side. Turn the pieces over, and broil them on the other side for 15 minutes or until their juices run clear when they are pierced with a fork.

Thanks for reading!

Vicki