Chicken Pilau

Or should I call it Pilaf? Hubby thinks it tastes just like a biryani, I told him its a lazy version of Biryani, where everything is dumped into one pot. Yes! I know! I love one-pot recipes.  Eid is coming up,  the previous Eid or Eidhul Fithr is the Eid that celebrates the end of Ramadhan or the Muslim fasting month. This upcoming Eid , Eidhul Adha is to celebrate the end of  Hajj day also known as the Festival of Sacrifice.



 In Maldives, Eidhul Adha is celebrated with quite the merry ment. Male city gets quite deserted as everyone heads to the islands to celebrate. So life in male city becomes quite tolerable then LOL, So I am  looking forward  for Eidhul Adha .   Hopefully it wont be a rainy day, it has been raining  a lot these past weeks, not that I am complaining, I love the rain, except the boys missed a few swim lessons.  As I mentioned in an earlier post they don't go to an indoor pool,  they swim in the sea. Hopefully  one day they will  finally make an indoor pool for regular swimmers and athletes.

Anyway,  I wanted to post a recipe that is festive but still something that can be made quickly with minimum washing up afterwards.  Its great served with a nice salad, some raita or Tzatziki , or even a simple Dhal curry.

Recipe: Chicken Pilau

1 kg Chicken, skinned and jointed into large pieces.
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
4 -5 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger,
Juice of 1 lime.
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala, home made or store-bought
1-2 green chillies, slit in two
1  pandan leaf, knotted or cut into rough  strips
12 curry leaves
1 cup canned coconut milk
3 cups water
2 tomatoes, chopped
A nice bunch of coriander, leaves and  stems finely chopped separately ( if unavailable use mint leaves)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup frozen green peas.
2 cups basmathi rice
2 inch cinnamon stick
6-8 cardamon pods ends snipped off
Oil, 3 tbsp or to make it more richer, 3 tbsp Ghee
Salt

Wash rice till the water runs clear, set aside.

In a blender or motor and pestle, puree the garlic and ginger with half the lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Pour this onto the chicken and rub it in. Set aside.

Now,  heat a large casserole or wok or any kind of cooking pot that will fit everything in.  Add oil and add the onion slices,  curry leaves, cinnamon and cardamon.  Stir fry till the onions soften and start to go translucent.

Add the tomatoes, the ground spices, tomato paste and coriander stems  ( if using mint don't add it here) and stir for 1-2 mins. Add a few tablespoons of water and cook for one minute so the rawness of the spices goes off.

Carefully add the chicken pieces along with the marinade. Stir to coat well with the spice mix and add the coconut milk, the chillies and 2 cups of water. Bring to a quick boil then lower heat to medium heat and simmer covered till the chicken is almost done.

Now taste add salt, when you add salt you have to remember that you will be adding rice so make it slightly saltier than you normally add.

Stir in the rice,  cook over medium heat , if the water looks too little add the remaining 1 cup of water.  Cook for 10 minutes,( you might need to stir now and then ), once the rice has absorbed all the liquid and looks done, bring the heat to the lowest and cover with the lid. Cook for 2 minutes or so, Then remove the lid and add the chopped coriander leaves or mint. Cover again and then switch off the heat.

Let it sit for another 10 minutes, then remove the lid fluff up the rice, and serve!

Enjoy!!!