Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Chicken Tagine with Rice

When I got the latest edition of Dish recently, the magazine fell conveniently open on a recipe for Baked Moroccan Chicken with Pumpkin and Rice and as soon as I saw the photo, I knew it was something that I was going to make.

It uses chicken thighs which are probably the best tasting part of the chicken and cooking them with skin and bone intact, you know the flavour is just going to be that much better. It's spiced with a blend of ground ginger, turmeric, paprika and cinnamon which just fills the kitchen with those mouth watering aromas. Completing the picture with rice and vegetables, this all in one dish will satisfy even the hungriest.



chicken tagine© by Haalo









Chicken Tagine with Rice
[Adapted from Dish Issue 25]
 
6 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
2 medium red onions, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped finely
2 small carrots, cut diagonally
1 red capsicum/red pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
300 grams butternut pumpkin, cut into cubes
crushed garlic
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed




For this dish I used a tagine - but you can use any dish that goes from stove top to oven.

Prepare the spice mix:
Place the ground ginger, turmeric, paprika and cinnamon into a bowl and stir well to combine.

Prepare the chicken:
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and sprinkle over with a little of the spice mix - aim at using no more than 2 teaspoons of the spice mix for this.

Drizzle a little oil in your dish and heat over a medium flame - add a small knob of butter and when sizzling add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Only add two at a time to keep an even temperature - if you add too many, the heat will drop and the chicken will stew rather than brown. Once the skin has coloured, turn over and cook until golden. Remove the chicken from the dish and set to one side.

Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until the vegetables start to soften - now add the capsicum and cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables just start to colour. Sprinkle in the remaining spice mix - stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the pumpkin cubes and stir again to mix through and then sprinkle over the drained rice. Give this a good stir to ensure it's well incorporated and then pour over with hot water or stock - the water should be just above the level of your ingredients.

Arrange the chicken thighs, skin side up on top of the pan, press them down slightly so they are partly submerged.

Cover and place this is preheated 170°C/340°F oven for about 30 to 45 minutes. The time will depend on the dish you use so do keep an eye on it from about the 20 minute mark.

To serve:

Remove the chicken from the dish and using two forks, gently toss the rice and vegetables to help fluffy it up. Place the chicken back on top and serve.



chicken tagine with rice© by Haalo



6 comments

  1. This looks really, really good, and sounds so simple to prepare. I just might add it to my menu plan for next week! Thanks so much for sharing.

    -Juanita

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  2. I have added a tagine to my birthday list that is just around the corner!!!! Will stick it in hubby's cupboard!!!Looks divine!!!

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  3. i could smell the spice here!!!
    i agree with you about chicken thighs. i'm an absolute thigh person. NO WHITE MEAT PLS!

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  4. I am making this tonight Haalo!

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  5. this sounds great - I don't have a tagine, do you think a dutch oven would work? I have a pumpkin sitting on my counter, this would be ideal for dinner this week!

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  6. Thanks Juanita - it's pretty easy and tasty too!

    Thanks Nina - hope you have a great tagine filled birthday!

    Thanks Lulu!

    Hope you enjoy it Anh!

    Thanks Gudrun - a dutch oven should work fine.

    ReplyDelete

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