Hello, everyone, and happy Monday! Today, we are going to take a look at something I am super excited about: Curry Chicken Pilaf. What's more, we are going to make it in 30 minutes from start to finish.
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Before we get into this, let's talk for a second about what exactly a pilaf is. Rice pilaf is a dish where the rice is generally sauteed in oil prior to being cooked in stock or sometimes water. Countries all around the world have versions of pilafs using localized ingredients. I think, despite its global popularity, pilaf is a technique that is underused in North America. So, I wanted to shed some light on it. If you're curious about building flavour from spices, my post on the basics of curry is a great starting point.
Getting Started: Seasoning the Chicken
First, get a large pan on the stove over medium-high heat.
While the pan is heating up, measure out 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 2 tablespoon madras curry powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon coriander, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt into a larger mixing bowl and mix well. Add 1 pound of diced chicken thighs (you can use chicken breast) to the spice mixture and stir to coat.
Browning the Chicken
Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the chicken to the pan as well, spreading it out in an even layer. Leave the chicken alone to cook for about 2 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, dice 1 onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic. In total, you want about 1 cup of onion and 1 tablespoon of garlic. If you have a little more or a little less of each, it isn't going to hurt anything.
Flipping the Chicken and Adding the Aromatics
Flip the chicken and add the onions and garlic into the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes.
Adding the Rice and Stock
Add the rice into the pan and stir to coat the rice with the oil and spices. This step is what makes a pilaf a pilaf -- sauteing the rice in fat before adding liquid gives it a nuttier flavour and helps keep the grains separate. After a minute or two add in 2 cups of chicken stock and ½ cup of peas. Turn the heat up to high and bring the stock to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
Adding Raisins and Simmering
One thing that really enhances the flavour of curry is a little pop of sweetness. For this sweetness, I added ¼ cup of raisins. I seasoned the curry with a pinch of salt and pepper, put the lid on the pan and turned the heat down to low. I set a 15-minute timer then tidied up for about 5 minutes.
Preparing the Cilantro Garnish
While the curry chicken pilaf was cooking I picked about ¼ cup of whole cilantro leaves. I washed them, dried them, and set them aside. I still had about 10 minutes left until dinner was ready so I just chilled out and waited.
Serving the Curry Chicken Pilaf
At 7:45, my timer went off, and the curry chicken pilaf was ready. I finished it with the cilantro leaves and served it up.
Conclusion
This curry chicken pilaf is one of those meals that looks and tastes like it took far more effort than it actually did -- only about 15 minutes of active cooking with the rest being hands-off simmering. I should mention that I cheated a little by pre-dicing my chicken from bone-in thighs (I used the bones to make the stock), but store-bought stock and pre-diced chicken work just as well.
If you're looking for more one-pan weeknight meals like this, try my stir-fry guide for another technique that comes together fast.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb diced chicken thighs
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoon madras curry powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or ½ teaspoon Table Salt
- Pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- ½ cup peas
- 2 tablespoon raisins
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Combine 2 tablespoon olive oil with the spices and mix.
- Toss the chicken with the spices.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the remaining olive oil and brown the chicken on all sides.
- Add in the onion and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Add the rice into the pot and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add the Chicken stock and peas, bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for about 2 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, add in the peas, put a lid on the pot, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat garnish with cilantro and serve.
Heather says
This looks great and tasty! Any suggestions if you wanted to use brown rice?
Chef Ben Kelly says
Thank you Heather!
If you wanted to use brown rice I would suggest using the ratio of rice to liquid that the package instructions suggest. As for time, I would pretty much follow the time on the package instructions as well. Other than that, I would keep the recipe the same.
I hope this helped.
Thank you again for your question, Heather.
Heather says
Thanks – looking forward to trying this.