Honey-Spiced Roasted Chicken

To make this dish, I adapted this recipe by reducing the amount of spices called for (to 3 Tbsp coriander seeds and 1 ½ Tbsp cumin seeds) and using 4 small chicken breasts instead of 2 thighs (25 minutes in the oven was plenty, so that’s the cooking time I’m giving you here). I loved the taste of the honey and spice rub on the chicken, and I loved the fact that the honey did not burn during cooking. However, even though the original recipe says to use seeds ground with a mortar and pestle, I recommend using pre-ground spices for this. The seeds leave husks that are too big. You can adjust the quantities; just make sure you get a good paste when mixing it with the honey. Enjoy!

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
3 Tbsp ground coriander
1 ½ Tbsp ground fennel OR cumin (I used cumin)
salt, to taste
5 Tbsp honey or more
2-3 Tbsp cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Mix the spices. Add salt and then stir in the honey, adjusting the amount until you get a sticky spreadable paste.

Spread the spice mix over the chicken breasts only on one side. Pat mixture into place so it is nice and thick.

Heat a heavy pan. Add oil and place the spiced chicken breasts, spiced side down first, into the pan. Sear the chicken pieces on both sides until lightly golden.

Transfer to a baking dish and roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until no longer pink inside.

Place chicken on a platter and scoop up the juices from the roasting pan to dribble over the chicken. Serve with rice.