Morrocan-Inspired Chicken Stew

Ingredients:
– 2 medium-sized onions
– 4 cloves of garlic – crushed
– 2 legs
– 2 thighs
– 1 package chicken gizzards and hearts
– 6 large potatoes cut in half widthwise, then into eights
– 4 large carrots or half a bag of baby carrots – large carrots need to be chopped, the baby ones can stay as they are
– 1 large green pepper – chopped into chunks
– 12 dried apricots
– 12 prunes
– 4 tbsp of pomegranate molasses (more if you require a more intense taste)

– 1 tbsp cumin
– 1 stick cinnamon
– 3 pods of cardamom
– Black pepper
– 8 Curry leaves
– 1 bay leaf
– ¼ tsp allspice
– 1 tbsp salt
– 2 dried hot chili peppers
– Olive oil

Crush the garlic and warm it in olive oil in a large non-stick pot (a cast-iron pot is ideal) – the warming of garlic also flavors the oil and prevents the garlic from burning.

Place the when the garlic has cooked sufficiently, but not burned, remove it and place the onions into oil.

While sautéing the onions, add the spices one by one to create almost a spice rub. All the spices will blend together and create a consistent coating for the chicken.

Add the chicken – let it brown on all sides before adding other ingredients.

Once the chicken has browned, place the rest of the ingredients inside the pot.

Cover the pot and cook on medium heat until enough liquid gathers on the bottom to almost braise the meat.

Lower the heat to low and cook for 90 minutes. The longer the slow cooking time, the deeper the flavors will be.

***Makes 6 Servings***