African Spiced Water Buffalo Wings

Chicken legs are always on sale in my local Latin market, and the Chef likes his meat dark. This flavorful exotically spiced dish is a great way to use up those spices that have been sitting in the rack forever. Old spices lose their potency so by using larger amounts it will still make for a flavorful entree.

The Chef lives a couple of miles south of Little Ethiopia on Fairfax Blvd. in Los Angeles, and has had the pleasure of tasting this African cuisine. Some of the dishes are comprised of stewed vegetables, chicken and beans, and served with a 24 inch thin spongy, sour/fermented, bread called Injera, that you use instead of utensils.

Now, the Chef is not an expert on African food by any means, and has never eaten water buffalo, but sometimes the entree idea comes first -- then I have to try and figure out the recipe. "Water buffalo wings" just sounds kind of funny, and you know how I like wordplay. This dish combines the "dry rub" technique of Southern barbeque with spices common to North Africa. In this recipe I use less ground cloves than the other spices because it is so strong. If you like India tandori spiced chicken, you'll like the Chef's African Spiced Water Buffalo Wings.

 
Ingredients

• 6-8 chicken legs
• 2 tbsp. each of ground ginger, paprika and cumin 1 tbsp. of ground cloves
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix spices and rub onto each chicken leg. Roast in oven about 45 minutes or until juices run clear by piercing thickest part of chicken leg.

This winning dish was created for The 99 Cent Chef's 2009 Oscar Special video -- as a Best Actor Entree for the movie "The Visitor".