Spicy Tandoori Chicken ... Fat substitutes

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Dear Lynne: While we were in Zanzibar, we went on a spice-plantation tour. At the end of the tour, I bought some true cinnamon and red curry powder. Now, I'd appreciate some new ideas for using cinnamon and for using red curry powder. I think it has coloring in it, because it's very red. It might be close to what is used in India to make the roasted Tandoori chicken. But all the recipes I've found for red curry call for curry paste. Any insights are welcome. -- Peg in SeattleDear Peg: Zanzibar. I can practically inhale the spices, and see the harbor filled with the boats of the ancient trade between the east coast of Africa and China and India. Talk about a place I've always wanted to see! But on to your question:True cinnamon can have nearly the impact of black pepper -- piquant, but smelling of gardenia, jasmine, and, of course, cinnamon. The cinnamon usually found in our markets comes from the bark of the cassia tree (Cinnamomium cassia), which is a near relative to the cinnamon tree, and can be intense, but with more single minded fragrances of spice without the flowers. Now you need ideas.Here are a few: Cinnamon and black pepper rubbed into poultry and meats before cooking turns mellow with a nice peppery snap. Try that same duo sauteed with onion and garlic and tossed with cooked cabbage, or any sweet vegetable like parsnips, squashes and sweet potatoes. Cinnamon in a pasta tomato sauce (along with a squirt of lemon juice as you are tossing the sauce and pasta together) gives the dish a Greek edge. Cinnamon opens up anything chocolate with even richer chocolate flavor, from box mix brownies to hot cocoa. And true cinnamon and sugar on buttered bread that you run under the broiler to caramelize the sugar is a kid dessert any food-loving adult will love.Now to your red curry -- definitely use it in recipes calling for red curry paste. They are usually Thai concoctions, so you will want to add fresh garlic, maybe fresh galingale (a member of the ginger family and much used in Thailand) or ginger root, but considering how many variations there are for Thai red curry paste, your red curry mix should be fine. Just remember to saute the curry powder first, before adding the main ingredient be it chicken, meat, tofu or fish.Here is a Tandoori chicken recipe that will shine with that powder. Start a day ahead because this needs 24 hours in the marinade. For those without red curry powder from Zanzibar, this recipe has its own special spice blend.A tandoor oven resembles a great clay pot; it is fired with charcoal or wood to high temperatures. Whole chickens are suspended in it to roast. Using a rack over a foil-covered pan and a 450 degree Fahrenheit oven is a safe way to simulate the tandoor at home. I've used chicken thighs in this recipe instead of the usual whole or cut up chicken because they remain moist, no matter how hot the cooking temperature.Food coloring is to give the chicken the traditional red tandoori color. Leave it out if you wish. The dish's flavor will not change.TANDOORI ROAST CHICKEN INSPIRED BY ZANZIBAR RED CURRYServes 4Spice Blend:1 teaspoon each ground cumin, coriander, black pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or Tabasco sauce1/4 teaspoon ground cloves2 teaspoons salt2-inch piece ginger root, coarsely chopped6 large garlic cloves1 medium onion, coarsely chopped1 cup whole milk organic plain yogurt1/2 teaspoon mixed red and yellow food coloring, or enough to make marinade orange.1/3 cup cold-pressed canola or extra-virgin olive oilChicken:3-1/2 to 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skinned (organic chicken preferred)Salt and freshly ground black pepper as neededGarnish:Lemon wedgesSmall bunch fresh corianderThinly sliced red onion soaked in ice water (to rid it of its sharpness)A day before cooking, combine all the spice blend ingredients in a blender and puree. Turn the mix into a bowl large enough to hold the chicken and spice blend. With the point of a sharp knife make a couple of slashes into each chicken thigh (to help the marinade penetrate) Add the chicken pieces to the bowl, turning to coat them evenly. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.About 90 minutes before serving turn oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the chicken from the fridge. Spread foil over a large shallow pan and set a rack over it (a baking rack will do). Lift the chicken pieces from the marinade onto the rack, without patting dry. Sprinkle the pieces with a little salt and pepper.Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, turn with tongs and roast another 20 minutes to 25 minutes, or until an instant reading thermometer inserted into a thigh (but not touching bone) reads 170 degrees. Lift the chicken onto a heated serving platter and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish it with lemon wedges, coriander sprigs and the drained onion. Serve hot or warm.Serving: Rice is a classic accompaniment, but the flat breads called Naan, or roti, are delicious for wrapping up slivers of chicken with coriander, onion and a squeeze of the fresh lemon.Dear Lynne: For healthier baking I've heard I can substitute fruit purees, like applesauce, for fats. Can I substitute purees for oil and butter, or only in recipes where oil is called for? -- Bonnie in Long BeachDear Bonnie: Without going into a chemistry lesson (which I couldn't give if I tried), I will give you cue cards for how to tell if you can substitute fruit purees for fats.Fats do several things in recipes. In recipes where you are told to beat the butter or fat until it's fluffy, then add eggs, flour, etc., the fat is actually what is giving the cake its structure. In another type of cake recipe, beaten eggs or whites give the structure as in angel food cakes and the French genoise.In a third type of recipe, fats are mainly moisteners and you can tell because the recipe calls for oil or melted butter, as in gingerbread, brownies, muffins, banana bread, zucchini bread and the like.That third category, recipes calling for liquid fat, is where you can substitute fruit purees. Two cautions here: First, make sure the puree is not too loose or watery. Second, never eliminate all the fat called for or you will end up something not worth eating. Rule of thumb is to substitute fruit puree for 1/3 to 1/2 the fat called for in the recipe. Pick a fruit that will complement the recipe's flavoring. Prune puree is good in chocolate recipes, applesauce in spice recipes and so on.(Lynne Rossetto Kasper hosts "The Splendid Table," American Public Media's weekly national show for people who love to eat. For more information, visit www.splendidtable.org or call 1-800-537-5252. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)