Spiced Chicken And Rice AKA Dajaj Machbous

Yep another recipe from Yasmin Khan!  I've got my money's worth out of that book (Zaitoun).  Well, I borrowed it from the local library, so no actual money was involved :-)  She seems to have a penchant for spicy chicken dishes, as do I.  But I find her recipes a little lacking in flavour for our tastes, so I've added a bit more spice to bling it up.  To be honest, I find her recipes a bit weird in that she doesn't mention the seasoning or water or stock, except in the method.  So suddenly she's talking about adding something you had no idea was coming 'cos it ain't in the list of ingredients.  Oh well, I've added them to my recipe here, so no guessing for you, my friends.

Back in the Dark Ages, when Mr P. and I had knee joints that didn't creak, we had (and still have) a dear friend who was married to an Iranian chap.  She learned to cook many wonderful Iranian dishes for him, which were eaten sitting on the floor (you see, knee joints needed to work).  We were staying with them in Sydney one time, when we suddenly felt the earth move.  And I don't mean like that, you naughty minds.  There had just been an earthquake up the road - well, I mean about 150 kilometres up the road:-)  And we don't have a lot of earthquakes in Australia, so let me tell you, this was a big surprise.  Mr P. and I seem to herald all sorts of interesting events!  That time we just missed the terrorist attack in the London Tube; that protest we accidentally attended in Athens with over 1 million people!; the London hurricane we slept through - we're Queenslanders, so we just thought it was a bit of a storm ...  

pound your spices

Serves 6:

ingredients:

50g. (1.7 oz) pine nuts

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cummin seeds

1/4 tsp (heaped) fenugreek seeds

seeds from 4 or 5 cardamom pods

2 dried black limes or 3-4 tsp black lime powder (loomi) - I used the powder

a hefty half teaspoon of ground turmeric

a hefty half teaspoon of ground allspice

1.5 kg chicken pieces - I used thigh fillets and cutlets

1½ tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbs EV olive oil plus another 2 tbs EV olive oil

1 large brown onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

250g. (8 oz) white basmati rice, rinsed and drained

600 mL (20 oz) just-boiled water 

1/2 tsp chicken stock powder

1 carrot, finely grated

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp mace

1/2 tsp mountain pepperberry powder (optional)

an extra 1/2 tsp sea salt if you feel the need

a biiig handful of fresh parsley, chopped

plain yoghurt to serve

eggplant relish (or your fave) to serve, optional

Method:

First toss the pine nuts in a small, dry frypan till they are lightly toasted; put aside

Use that small frypan again to toast the coriander, cummin, fenugreek and cardamom seeds

Either put the seeds plus the dried limes, turmeric and allspice into a small food processor or spice grinder, and blitz till you have a chunky powder, or do what I did - whack 'em into a mortar, and pestle away by hand

Now grab a large mixing bowl, chuck in the chicken pieces, toss in HALF the spice mixture plus the sea salt, pepper, and 2 tbs of the olive oil, and mix well with your hands

Warm the other 2 tbs of olive oil in a LARGE frypan/skillet over medium heat till hot; then add the chicken, brown on all sides and cook away for 8-10 minutes

Set aside the chicken (i.e. take the pieces out of the pan), and now add the onion, and cook, stirring now and then, for about ten minutes

Stir in the garlic, and let it cook for a few minutes

In goes the washed and drained rice, the just-boiled water, the stock powder, the carrot, the salt, and the other half of the spice mix plus the extra spices (that I decided to include) - cinnamon, thyme, ginger, mace, mountain pepperberry (and an extra half tsp sea salt if you wish)

Give it all a really hefty stir together, add the chicken pieces back in, and cook, covered, for about half an hour or till the chicken is tender and the rice cooked

Let it breathe off the heat for 5 minutes, then scatter over the parsley and pine nuts

Serve with the yoghurt and relish if using

Notes:

I bought the dried black lime powder (loomi) online from a spice shop

Use whatever type of chicken pieces you prefer; Mr P. doesn't like skin or bones, so I generally go for thigh fillets.  For this dish, I had some fillets, and some cutlets (with skin and bone) so I used a mix of both

I transferred the chicken to a biiiiig saucepan, and cooked it in that 'cos my frypan was just that wee bit too small

If it starts to look dry during cooking, add a wee bit more water or stock

Regular readers will understand why I added the eggplant relish as a garnish:-)  Yep, I've got jars of the stuff sitting in the fridge ...

de-seed the cardamom pods

toast the spices

pound away

mix with the turmeric and allspice

add the olive oil to the spices

brown and cook the chicken for 8-10 mins,

rice, water, carrot, + other half of the spice mix in with the garlic + onion

chicken pieces on top

topped with toasted pine nuts

© Sherry's Pickings