Indian-style Cornish Hen with Honey-Tamarind Glaze

I love Facebook. In addition to giving me something to do with all that time I would normally waste *sarcasm*, I get to catch up with old friends and learn to cook new, waist-expanding recipes. Recently, someone from my high school started a group dedicated to all of our alumni foodies.  We share recipes, post pictures, and drool a lot. To make things more fun, we just started our own version of "Chopped".  Once a month, an alumni gets to pick a main ingredient and add in a few twists for excitement and we all have to go out and make an appetizing dish.  This month, our ingredients were cornish hens, a green vegetable and some other side. I grew up on game birds - guinea hen, quail, pheasant, cornish hens, goose, duck, even the occasional chicken. Usually stuffed and roasted and served with potatoes or some such starch. I really wanted to try something different and so I got pretty excited when I found this recipe by Bobby Flay for an Indian style hen. This is a nice twist on a soy sauce/honey/garlic sauce I often make for chicken. If you use a store-bought chutney, and some chicken breasts or thighs, this is a protein that can be on the table in 30 minutes and will impress guests!  I served this with curried spinach and chickpeas and a side of garlic naan.

Garam Marsala Rubbed Cornish Hen with Honey-Tamarind Glaze

Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients

Cornish Hens, washed and patted dry

Salt

Garam Marsala

Honey-Tamarind Glaze

Directions

Preheat oven to 425'

Season the entire hen with salt, including the cavity. Rub the garam marsala over the entire hen. Place the hens, breast side up, on a lightly oiled baking rack set over a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Brush with some of the glaze and reduce the heat to 375' and continue baking until cooked through, 15-20 minutes (160' degrees in the thickest part of the thigh), turning occasionally to baste with the glaze. You can finish the bird off under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to crisp the skin on the breast. Remove the hens from the oven, brush with the remaining glaze, and let rest five minutes before serving.

Honey-Tamarind Glaze

2 tbsp canola oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp minced or grated fresh ginger

1 seeded and chopped jalapeno

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp white vinegar

¼ cup water

1 cup of honey

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and ginger and cook until soft. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in water and cook until reduced by half. Add vinegar, tamarind paste, and whisk in the honey and cook for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Alternatively, there are some excellent Tamarind Chutneys available at your local grocery store. Use equal parts chutney and honey to glaze the hens.