Persian Chicken and Fragrant Crispy Rice
Fragrant Crispy Rice
3 cups basmati rice (can use Jasmine)
Salt
3 tablespoons plain yogurt - hopefully full fat!
3 tablespoons butter and 4-5 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil or ghee)
1/2 cup chives, green onions, or ramps or leeks cut paper thin
2 cups chopped dill, or cilantro, parsley or both or all three (up to 4 cups total)
3 sliced thin green garlic or garlic
1 teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in 4 tablespoons hot water or rose water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
a splash of rose water, squeeze of orange juice or orange blossom water to finish at the end- just a little…
Fill a large stockpot with 4-5 quarts of water and bring it to boil over high heat.
Put the rice in a bowl and rinse with cold water, changing the water 5-6 times, until the starch has run off and the water runs clear. Drain the rice.
Once the water comes to a boil, salt it heavily. The precise amount will vary depending on what kind of salt you’re using:
6 tablespoons= fine sea salt
1/2 cup = kosher salt.
The water should taste salty
Add the rice, and stir.
Have ready a fine-mesh sieve and colander in the sink.
Cook rice, stirring from time to time, until it’s al dente, about 6 to 8 minutes.
A nice bite to it = al dente.
While the rice is cooking, add all the herbs, ramps, onions, rose water and cinnamon together in a bowl and mix it very well.
Drain rice into the the strainer and rinse with cold water to stop the rice from cooking further.
Drain.
Put 1 cup of the rice with 3 Tablespoons yogurt.
Using a 10-inch case iron skillet or nonstick frying pan ( I hope I can convince you otherwise)
With medium heat, add the oil and butter.
When the butter melts, add the yogurt-rice mixture into the pan and level it out.
Mix the rest of the rice with the herb mixture and pile that on top of the plain yoghurt rice.
Spread out across the top.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon, gently dig five or six holes into the rice down to the bottom of the pot, which will be gently sizzling. ( you are looking for a crisp crust to form on the bottom)
There should be enough oil in the pan so you can see the oil creating a crust.
Add a little more oil if needed.
Continue cooking the rice over medium heat, turning the pan a quarter turn every 3 or 4 minutes to ensure even browning, until you start to see a golden crust begin to form at the sides of the pan, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Once you see the crust turn from pale amber to gold, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes.
The edges of the crust should be golden, and the rice should be cooked completely through.
There really isn’t a way to tell
when you have this perfectly done, smell , touch, guess, Trust your senses.
To flip the rice onto a platter, take a deep breath- you can do this!
Run a spatula along the edges of the pan to ensure that no part of the crust is sticking.
Take another deep breath.
Put a shallow dish over the top of you pan- yes! .. and it should be bigger..
Carefully flip it onto a shallow bowl or platter.
It should look like a beautiful cake of fluffy rice with a golden crust
you can smash a little orange juice, rose water or orange blossom over the top.
And It’s only RICE! If it work, scoop it our and flip the crunchy rice on top.
Persian Chicken
1 whole cut up Chicken- I will teach you how to cut up the chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 2 limes about-5 tablespoons lime juice or vinegar or 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (before roasting and 3 after)
4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
2 tablespoons raz el hanout (or combined mixture cinnamon, cardamon and cumin)*
Mix the oil and lime juice, garlic and spices together
Toss the chicken well with the olive oil and garlic mixture.
Allow it to rest together overnight or minimally 2 hours.
1 onion cut up in slices
1 apple cored and sliced in 8-10 slices
1 cup of prunes, figs or dried apricots or a mixture
1/2 cup chopped dates or raisins or currants
1 teaspoon saffron
1/2 cup rose water* broken up well with a mortar and pestle
Mix the saffron and rose water together and allow to steep for about 15 minutes.
Pour the mixture over the dried fruit and allow it to steep for 15 minutes.
Just before roasting, preheat the oven to 450.
Combuned the onions and apples nd coat will with the marinate that the chicken is in.
If you need a bit more oil, add a little oil and spices to cover the apple and the onion slices.
arrange the chicken in a single layer in a roasting dish and pour the dried steeped fruit over the chicken.
Drizzle about 1-2 tablespoon date syrup or pomegranate molasses(or honey or maple syrup ) over the chicken.
Place in the oven and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, then turn the temp down to 35 and cook for 50- 60 or so minutes. Bake until the thigh pieces yield clear yellow juice when pricked with a fork, basting two or three times with the pan juices once the chicken begins to brown.
*If you do not have rose water- you can sub out the rose water and raz el hanout for 4 tablespoons chopped green olives, 1 tablespoon capers (and 2 tablespoons zaatar at end to finish)
* Also you can sub orange blossom water and orange zest for the rose water.