I Think I’ll Call It A Biryani

Tags

biryani, Chicken, food, rice, spices

I definitely cooked with great abandon last night as the menu kept changing in my head! I had said to my husband that I was going to make a Chicken Tagine but quarter of the way through cooking, I changed my mind and it sort of became something COMPLETELY different…so yes, I think I’ll call it a Biryani!

Ingredients
• Chicken breast pieces
• Basmati rice or long grain rice
• Red onion (diced)
• Garlic (diced)
• Carrot (grated)
• Chickpeas
• Raisins
• Cashew nuts
• Chickpeas
• Cumin
• Dried parsley
• Paprika
• Za’atar spice
• Fresh cilantro
• Olive oil & butter

Method
1. Boil the rice and once cooked, leave to cool completely.
2. Marinade the chicken breast pieces in dried parsley, cumin, paprika, za’atar spice, salt & cracked black pepper in a little olive oil for 30 mins or 1 hour.
3. On a medium high heat, heat up a big saucepan and add olive oil & some butter. Place the chicken breast pieces and brown them till thoroughly cooked.
4. Throw in the onions & garlic, dried parsley, za’atar spice, salt & pepper and sauté together with the chicken. Once the onions are soft, add the raisins, cashew nuts, chickpeas and grated carrots.

5. Add the fresh chopped cilantro, sauté for 2 minutes, then add the cooled rice into the pot, making sure the rice is coated with all the spices.

Garnish with cilantro and more cashew nuts if you wish and serve…

I made a simple side salad of chopped green apples, baby plum tomatoes, diced red onion, chopped cilantro and drizzled it with a little honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & cracked black pepper…

It was a lovely burst of flavours and went fantastically with the dish!

Despite how many times I changed my mind, the “I think I’ll call it a Biryani” was a success and was really enjoyed by us both at iftar!😊

Have a fabulous Monday!💞