3 onions, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 6-8 chicken breast, cut into small pieces 15ml chicken spice 15ml turmeric 10ml salt 375ml cooked rice 250ml frozen peas
Place a large pan on medium-high heat and add some oil to it. Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the chicken pieces and sprinkle over the chicken spice, turmeric, salt and a few grindings of pepper. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring every now and then for another 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for 5 minutes or so until warm. Serve a fresh tomato salad.
1 onion, finely chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced 60ml vegetable oil 5ml salt 375ml chicken stock, warmed 310ml boiling water 45ml butter, cubed 375ml long grain white rice
60ml vegetable oil 20ml brown sugar 30ml chicken spice 10ml onion seeds 10ml dried French tarragon about 12 mixed chicken portions, skin on
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 28cm x 35cm ovenproof dish with cooking spray. Add the onion, garlic, vegetable oil, salt, chicken stock, water and butter to the baking dish and stir through until the butter has melted. Add the rice and mix through. Pour the oil into a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, chicken spice, onion seeds and tarragon and stir to mix. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix through with your hands until each piece of chicken is covered in the mixture. Now arrange the chicken on top of the rice and cover the baking dish with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 40minutes. Serve warm with a crisp salad on the side.
Perde Pilavi is a traditional Turkish dish made of chicken and rice flavoured with nuts, fruit and spices and wrapped up in a delicious pastry, specked with flaked almonds.
Place the chicken in a large saucepan and pour in the stock. Cook on medium heat for an hour, until done. Remove the chicken from the stock and set aside to cool slightly. Reserve the stock. Place a large frying pan on medium-high heat, add the butter and wait for it to melt. Add the almonds and stir-fry until golden. Add the rice and cook for a minute or so, stirring all the while to coat in the butter. Now add the raisins, salt, a few grindings of black pepper, paprika and mint. Pour in 660ml of the reserved stock (add boiling water if you dont have enough), stir the mixture and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is almost cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside. Shred the chicken into strips and discard the bones and skin. Add the chicken to the rice mixture and stir through.
For the pastry: Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the eggs, yoghurt, butter and vegetable oil to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside. Add the salt, flour and baking powder to a bowl and whisk through. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Lightly knead the pastry to bring it together. Flour a work surface and roll the pastry to a 45cm diameter circle. It should be large enough to line the dish and have enough hanging over the sides to close around the filling. Spray a 18cm diameter x 8cm deep ceramic dish with cooking spray. Scatter the almonds on the bottom of the dish. Line the bottom and sides of the dish with the pastry, leaving the overhang. Spoon the cooled rice mixture into the pastry. Fold the overhang-pastry over the filling to enclose it completely – trim off any excess. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden. Take the dish from the oven and rest it for 15 minutes. Place a serving plate over the baking dish and invert it. Serve the pilavi with a crispy salad.
My Whisk and I 