This turmeric chicken and rice dish reminds me of chicken biryani, a dish which my sister in law introduced me and my family to. We love the rice biryani so much, it has since become a regular take-out dish at my house. Luckily, I found this turmeric chicken rice recipe on the “Food and Wine” annual cookbook that my co-worker gave me recently. I found some interesting recipes in the cookbook that I am already planning to make including this chicken rice dish. In this recipe, the chicken pieces were first browned in melted butter and then cooked on low heat with the aromatics, spices and rice. The result was this incredibly delicious rice dish that is packed full of flavor. It was a complete meal in itself. I am so impressed on how this dish turned out. My family, especially my husband, could not get enough of it. He has been having it at work for couple of days now. He enjoyed it as is but I had mine with tzatziki. Enjoy!
Turmeric Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 8 skin-on bone- chicken thighs or any chicken pieces of your choice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic grated or minced
- 2 plum tomatoes chopped
- 2 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 3 cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium high heat and then sprinkle with turmeric.
- Add the chicken (4 pieces at a time) skin side down and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes on each side.
- Transfer the browned chicken to a plate. Repeat with the remaining 4 pieces of chicken.
- Remove all but about 2 tablespoons fat in the pan. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomatoes, curry powder, cinnamon, cumin and rice and stir constantly for about 1 minute.
- Return the chicken to the pot, skin side up. Add the bay leaves, fish sauce and chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Adjust the lid to cover partially and simmer until the rice is cooked, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from the heat, uncover and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Serve with yogurt, cucumbers and lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Anonymous
It’s just about done and I took a taste and it tasted good. I think the line will send it over the top.
Charlotte
Is there a substitute for the fish sauce? Maybe broth or Better than Chicken paste?
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Charlotte,
You can use salt to replace the fish sauce. The amount of salt to use will depend on the kind of chicken broth you use. It’s better to use less ( start with a teaspoon) and then add more to taste later on. Hope this helps!
Anonymous
When you say “curry” in the recipe, do you mean curry powder or curry paste?
Liza Agbanlog
I used curry powder in this recipe.
Karyn Coakley
I love this dish made it a couple of days ago .so yummy.and got even better the day after i made it.
Liza Agbanlog
Awesome!
Troy
Can I substitute ghee for unsalted butter?
Liza Agbanlog
Yes, you can definitely use ghee.