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Indian Chicken and Rice with an Arabic Flavor

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g chicken

For marination

  • 2 tsp chilly powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 tbsp oil

For masala

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 20 shallots
  • 12 garlic cloves make a paste
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp chilly powder

For rice

  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 3 1/4 cups water
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 3 cardamom
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • Salt to taste
  • 3-4 green chillies slit half way
  • 2 dried limes

Instructions

DIRECTIONS

  • Marinate the washed chicken with the ingredients listed under marination. Pressure cook the chicken until you get three whistles or for 15 minutes. The chicken should be tender.
  • Open the cooker and in it you will have some gravy left. Keep it aside.
  • Shallow fry the pressure cooked chicken in 3 tbsp oil till golden brown. This will take very few minutes as it is already cooked. Keep the fried chicken aside.
  • In the same pan, which you fried the chicken pour the left over gravy and let it boil away till it is reduced and thickened. Keep it aside.

To prepare masala

  • In the same pan, add a tbsp more of oil and add cumin seeds.
  • Once you get the aroma of the cumin, add in the sliced shallots. Sauté it very well till it turns brown in color.
  • Add in the garlic and sauté for another minute.
  • Add the garam masala and chilly powder.
  • Drop in the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Close the lid and let it cook well till it turns mushy and soft.
  • At this point add the reduced gravy. Mix well. Add salt to taste.
  • Mix in coriander leaves.

To prepare ghee rice

  • Boil 3.25 cups of water in kettle or in a pan.
  • Wash and drain the rice and keep it ready.
  • In a thick bottom pan, add ghee. Add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom to that. Sauté till you get the aroma of the spices.
  • Throw in the rice and fry it for a minute.
  • Pour the boiled water into this. Add salt. Let it boil in high flame.
  • Once the water have reduced and you see bubbles, reduce the flame and close the lid. Let it cook for 3 minutes.
  • Poke holes on the dried limes or just slightly crush it with a pestle.
  • After 3 minutes the rice will be 3/4th cooked. At this stage insert the dried limes and slit green chillies. Close the lid and cook for another 2 minutes. The flame must be very low.
  • Then spread the prepared masala on top of the rice.
  • Cover the pan with aluminium foil. Place the lid on top. And then place the pan on top of a tava (flat frying pan). Let it cook on a very low flame for about 30 minutes so that the flavor of the masala and the limes will infuse into each rice grain.
  • Before serving mix in the fried chicken.

Notes

✔️ Even though the procedure looks so long, its not that hard. :)
✔️ While pressure cooking the chicken, you can add in about 1/4 cup of water if you are worried that it will burn.
✔️ Be careful when adding salt to the masala, because there will be salt in the reduced gravy too. So check and add in the end.