Grilled/Baked Chicken Legs..

It's Fall outside my window, yellowed leaves falling constantly, spreading a golden carpet in the woods behind, denuding the trees one leaf at a time. A burst of color everywhere, but this time the hues tempered  down by the unseasonable onset of snow. So the brilliance is low and slowly the grey is pervading everywhere. The malls are fighting back with their slew of bright colored winter sweaters and jackets, as if that will ward off the quietness and stillness already around.  There is a playground outside my house, which lights up when it sees kids but that's only when the sun is shining bright on it.. the rest of the time, it looks so forlorn and empty... as if the kids vaporized instantly. Maybe I should do a chicken sacrifice to appease the Fall gods into extending the glorious Fall season.

Chicken Legs were a favorite growing up, with a fight ensuing for them over the dinner table with my siblings, since the chicken in those days had only two legs.:) Nowadays the chicken (at least here) can have as many legs as they want, since its just a matter of ordering more of them at the Halal shop. You can buy just the thighs, just leg quarters, just the white meat, just wings.. if u pause to think of it, (which the kids don't,) they would wonder why the chicken has so many legs!  It used to be that meat was a luxury, with every part of the whole chicken being used fully to ensure that it was worthwhile. The good meaty parts went into frying and the bony parts went into a curry or stock. And indeed, a curry tastes way better if its made with a mix of dark and light meat, bony part et all than just white meat or dark meat. So for curries, I still get the whole chiken cut up, but for grilling and baking , this is better with even sized pieces which evens out the cooking time. Now it's a convenience, with chicken being cheaper than vegetables, with us buying whatever suits our needs more. 

You Will Need:
Chicken Drumsticks-5
Garlic Powder-1tbsp
Onion Powder-1tsp
Salt-1 tsp
Thyme- 1tbsp
Paprika-2 tbsp
Black pepper-1/2 tsp
All Spice Powder-1tsp
Optionally, Biryani Masala-1tsp

Mix all the dry rub ingredients together and keep aside. Wash and dry the chicken pieces, with or without the skin on. I grilled it with the skin on and the skin just crisps to a  crisp crunchy layer, which you can discard later if you want. The chicken should be dry and then score it twice and rub the dry rub generously all over the chicken. Let it marinate in the dry rub for an hour or so and then grill.
Place a thin layer of oil on the foil lined tray before placing the chicken on it and place it in a preheated 400 F oven for 20 minutes. Then cover the chicken with the foil and let it bake for  another 10 minutes to let the inside get cooked. Increase the heat to broil setting and open the foil and let the chicken crisp up to the broiler for about 5 minutes and you are done.
Some chicken may take less time if they are smaller.. check for doneness after 20-25 minutes.

Serve with flat breads and humus.

A Bowl of Noodles...

Left to myself, I would never have learnt cooking beyond variations of Ramen noodles or as it is called in India..Maggi.  A scrambled egg,  some spinach, some kimchi,  a lot of veggies...customize it any way you like and its is a quick meal.  Like it or hate it, it is a comfort food for many and noodles in any form is an easy meal to get to the table.. of course.. ramen is the easiest and if I thought selecting from the flavors of maggi was getting complicated, you just have to walk down the instant noodle aisle in the Asian food stores.. it ranges from the cheapest 4 for a dollar packets to the "pricier" gourmet packets of even two dollars. Plus recently I got introduced to the Nongshim  varieties of ramen...more junk food for me. Since the rest of the family did not (and still does not)  share this passion for over spiced, salty noodles, I had to learn cooking and could not take the easy way out.
So on other days, there is the stir fried noodles made with the endless varieties of noodles that you get here.. dried or fresh cooked ones too..a quick meal with veggies and chicken and egg all thrown as desired!! Spice up the noodles as you like but we like to have the spice on the side.

Boil noodles as per instructions on the package and drain. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a wok and saute the 1 tsp each of minced ginger garlic lightly. For 4 cup noodles, add about 1/4 cup each of mushrooms, Snow peas, sliced peppers, cabbage, julienne carrots, white parts of the scallions, thinly sliced beans, etc and saute for 3-4 minutes. Then add 2-4 tsp of soy sauce , 2-3 tbsp chicken stock if you have it,  2 tsp sesame oil and  1/2 tsp pepper. Add the noodles, toss well on high heat, add 1 tsp white vinegar and taste for salt. Finally add the green parts of the scallions. Toss with some sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, chili oil, optionally add sriracha sauce, green chili sauce, black pepper sauce etc for an added spice level. I really don't have a recipe.. I start with this and taste and modify as I go along depending on the taste.sometimes heavy on spices and sometimes its light with a side of the ubiquitous chili chicken. You are welcome to leave you modifications in the comments.