Spicy Ethiopian Chicken

I don't remember why I called this dish Ethiopian.  I remember thinking it was funny for some reason, but that reason has disappeared in the year and a half since I made it.  Perhaps because of the cardamom?  Perhaps the ginger, the allspice?  Perhaps because I thought it elevated the recipe to new, hoity-toity heights?  Who knows. I do remember that it was savory and delicious enough for me to sip leftover broth from a spoon, and that's always a good sign, right?

Here's a hoity-toity Ethiopian dish.  Make it, gobble it, and feel like a globe-trotting, culinary superstar! Oh, and here's another small and funny thing.  When I'm cooking or baking something off the cuff (which happens nearly daily), and I think it might turn out to be a keeper, I quickly jot down approximations of what I dumped into the dish/muffins/cheesecake, and then I stuff that scrap of paper into my recipe box of doom.  As near as I can tell, I just found the right garbled scrap of paper for this snapshot, but it's not labeled, so....

Oh, bother.  Throw caution to the wind!  Live with your eyes wide shut!  Ride the winds of danger!  Make this for supper tonight!


 


Abigail-Has-Never-Before-Flown-in-a-Plane Globetrotting Superstar Cajun-Ethiopian Chicken with Rice   (I realize the title could use some work.)

For the rice:
-3 cups dry rice, cooked in the manner of your choosing

For the rest:
-chicken broth (or water/bouillon)
-1 large white onion
-1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger
- about six cloves fresh garlic, minced
-1 and 1/2 tablespoons, or thereabouts, homemade Cajun seasoning (The recipe I use can be found here; just scroll to the bottom.  Thanks again, Emeril!)
-3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
- 3 chicken breasts, cubed in large chunks

Aaand that's all I have jotted down on the scrap of paper!  Brilliant, isn't it?

However, here's what I suggest you do with the above ingredients.

1. Dice the onion and saute it in a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil until softened and slightly translucent.  Add the minced ginger and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for a few minutes until the garlic softens and flavors are blended.

2. Dump in several cups of chicken broth, diced tomatoes and juice, spices, and the chicken pieces and simmer, covered, until the chicken is juicy and cooked through.  Add additional water, as needed, to keep the fluid levels constant.

3.  Serve piping hot beside the rice.

4.  Sip the leftover savory juices from a spoon.

5. Hop on a plane, fly to an exotic place, and think of me in Nanticoke.