Moroccan surprise

I had no choice but to cook...I was hungry and I had taken leg quarters out of the freezer.  I think I had a bit of inspiration from my daughter - she's at pastry arts camp this week and has a spring in her step.  There was no way we could justify eating the many desserts she brought home if it wasn't preceded by a nice home cooked dinner.

I can't even remember what I intended to cook when I took the chicken out...I jerked some breasts the week before last...my friend just returned from Israel bearing gifts of zatar and kurkum, but I need to make a call to UAE before I take the plunge because I've only had zatar as a tea or a topping and have never seen kumkum before but it looks a bit like bizaara...I still had a bit of longing for al Magrheb. 

I cleaned, skinned, and scored the chicken and that's when I started deviating from the plan - I seasoned the chicken and then sprinkled cayenne pepper....I placed that in the marinator while my daughter prepped the veggies - onions, garlic, potatoes, and celery - it was in the fridge so I used it. 

I seared the chicken, sauteed the garlic and onions, then added everything to the pressure cooker, sprinkling random seasonings here and there...after layering the tomatoes, I added my focal spices - ginger, cumin, nutmeg, paprika...then I threw in some cardamom pods and a few saffron threads - happened to notice them in the cabinet when I was getting out the rest of the stuff. 

I put a little liquid in the pot and then topped it with frozen vegetable normandy and sprinkled on a bit more seasonings.  These veggies should've been added later but I truly wasn't in the mood for any additional steps.  I let the pressure build and 15 minutes later we were enjoying our Moroccan chicken with a kick, courtesy of the cayenne pepper.