Since the Thanksgiving holiday, I have been overwhelmingly busy with my final phase of book’s editing. My best intention is to provide my readers a unique dining experience through my forthcoming book. I’m saying this because cooking and eating is connected to a full range of our sensory inputs such as taste, smell, vision, auditory, and touch. I hope I am able to achieve what I intend InshaAllah.

This week in my meal prep, I am presenting a dish that I prepare with whole chicken legs, tahini, and rosemary leaves. Tahini is a popular ingredient. It is prepared with lightly toasted sesame sauce – this is different from the Chinese version of sesame sauce that is deeply toasted. I like using tahini in my recipe because it has a light slightly bitter, nutty flavor. I normally serve the dish with salad, couscous or rice.

Ingredients: 

• 4 whole skinless chicken legs
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1-inch ginger
• 4 -5 whole red chili
• ½ cup crispy golden fried onions, crushed
• 2 teaspoons cumin seed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon labneh or Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, plus more for garnishing
• 2 tablespoon melted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt as needed

Method: 

• * Blend whole red chili, garlic, ginger, crispy golden-fried onions, cumin seeds, lemon juice, and salt, and make a smooth paste.
• * In a mixing bowl, add labneh, lemon zest, tahini, rosemary, and prepared paste. Coat the chicken legs generously with the prepared marinade. Then cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to marinate.

Baking process: 

• * Preheat the oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit. Cut 12-18-inch pieces of heavy-duty foil. Transfer the marinated chicken to the middle of the foil. Fold the chicken with the foil. Ensure the edges are sealed properly. Place the chicken legs in the baking dish. Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes.
• * Heat a heavy-bottom pan over medium heat, then add olive oil. Fry chicken legs until they turn golden brown on each side. Transfer the chicken to a serving plate.
• * Heat butter in a small-size saucepan over high heat. When the butter is shimmering, add rosemary leaves. Fry the rosemary leaves until it turns golden-brown. Pour them on top of the chicken legs. Serve immediately.