Golden Saffron and Cardamom Spiced Chicken and Rice Pilau

Name: Golden Saffron and Cardamom Spiced Chicken and Rice Pilau
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Pakistani Punjabi, Sindhi & Pashtun
Ingredients: 1.25 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts; 1 cup whole milk yogurt; juice of half a lemon; 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 small pinch garam masala; 0.5 tsp grated fresh ginger; 0.5 tsp saffron thread; 4 cup organic chicken stock; 1 tbsp butter; 2 tbsp peanut oil; 2.25 cup basmati rice; 0.25 cup sultana; 3 cardamom pods; 2 tbsp rose water; 1 fresh lemon; 0.25 cup slivered almonds; 0.25 cup shelled pistachio nut; 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

Chicken, basmati rice and milk yogurt simmered on the stove and spiced with saffron and cardamom for a Pakistani pilaf.

45 min · Serves 6 · Medium

Method

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Time: Prep 15 min · Cook 30 min · 45 min total
Difficulty: medium

1
Marinate the chicken in the yogurt, lemon, cinnamon, small pinch of garam masala, and grated ginger for about 1 hour. Soak the saffron threads in the chicken stock.
60 min
2
Shake the excess marinade off the chicken. In a large Dutch oven or Le Creuset over medium-high heat, fry the meat with a spoonful or so of oil (do this in batches so that the chicken becomes nicely golden in color). Remove chicken and browned bits to a plate, cover with aluminum foil to keep warm and set aside.
3
In the same pan, melt the butter with 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the rice, stirring to coat until glossy. Pour in the saffron and chicken stock, add the sultanas, cardamom pods, rose water, lemon juice and zest and bring the pan to the boil, then clamp on the lid and turn the heat down to very low. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, by which time the rice should have absorbed the liquid and be cooked through.
15 min
4
Add the chicken and the browned bits to the rice, stirring gently to combine. Toast the almonds by shaking them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until they color and begin to give off their fragrance, then add to the pilaf along with the chopped parsley. Pile everything onto a plate and add a fabulously green sprinkling of slivered or roughly chopped pistachios.