Iranian Chickenberry rice
Serves 6 |
Prep 30 mins
|
Cook 1 hr 30 mins
The Persian Empire influenced much of the cuisine of India’s Mughal Empire. The Indian emperor Shah Jahan employed cooks from Persia who used huge volumes of saffron, dried nuts and dried fruits, as well as their signature steam-method that Persians still use to cook rice today. No dish of that era could be more famous than biryani, which is served all over India, Pakistan and the West. This version uses chicken breast, which because it is off the bone, cooks in half the time of a traditional biryani, so makes a great midweek supper.
Source: Sirocco
Ingredients
vegetable oil , for frying
2
large
onions , halved and thinly sliced into half moons
8
pods
green cardamom
1
tsp
cumin seeds
small pinch
Iranian saffron threads
5
chicken breasts , cut into 5 cm chunks
2
tbsp
Greek yogurt
500
g
basmati rice
generous handful
barberries
100
g
dried blueberries
100
g
dried cranberries
100
g
almonds , toasted
75
g
pistachio slivers
sea salt flakes and black pepper , freshly ground
Instructions
Heat a saucepan over a high heat, then pour in enough vegetable oil to generously coat the base of the pan. Fry the onions until golden brown and crispy. Reduce the heat to medium, add the cardamom , cumin and saffron and stir well, then add the chicken breast chunks. Quickly seal the pieces of chicken breast (cook the outsides, leaving the insides raw), then stir in the yogurt . Season generously with salt, then take the pan off the heat.
Heat a large saucepan over a high heat, fill it with boiling water from a kettle and salt the water generously with a handful of sea salt flakes. Add the unwashed rice (you will wash it later) and parboil for 6 minutesrice into the colander and wash it thoroughly with cold water, using your hands to ensure every grain is thoroughly rinsed of starch. Drain the rice really well, shaking off excess moisture and leave it to stand for about 10 minutes
Rinse the pan you used for the rice and dry it. Take a large square of baking paper and scrunch it into a ball, then carefully open it out and use it to line the base and sides of your pan to prevent the rice from sticking. Drizzle in enough vegetable oil to generously coat the base of the pan and sprinkle the base evenly with a little salt. Now begin layering - scatter a 1 cm-thick layer of rice into the lined saucepan. Divide the chicken mixture into 3 equal portions and add 1 portion in an even layer over the rice . Follow this with generous amounts of the berries and nuts. Continue to layer the rice , chicken mixture and berries (reserving a little rice for the top) until they are used up. Scatter the reserved rice on top.
Using the handle of the wooden spoon, stab a series of holes into the layers, piercing right the way down to the base of the pan (this allows the steam to circulate), then wrap the pan lid in a tea towel (to lock in the steam and make a tight seal), cover the pan and cook the rice over the lowest temperature possible if using gas, or a medium-low heat if using electric, for 45-60 minutesrice dish - to avoid this, I would recommend you use a diffuser between the flame and the pan if you have one, in which case, double the cooking time. If you are lucky, you will get a nice crunchy crust.
My Persian roots dictate that I must always lift off the saucepan lid, lay a large platter over it and carefully flip the rice on to the platter to see how the crunchy base (tahdig) has turned out. Of course, you can simply spoon out the rice and pile it high on to a platter or shallow bowl and sneak most of the crunchy base as the chef’s perk - I won’t tell.
Similar recipes
Tah chin
Puerto rican chicken and rice
Pimped rice piri piri
Sausage & prawn jambalaya