Tastenexa
All recipes
Pakistani
Pakistani Chicken Pilau
70 min total10 prep60 cook5 servings
ClassicFlexitarianContains dairy
This is a classic Pakistani dish that is often served at dinner parties. It is a delicious meal which uses no chilli, making this a great dish to serve at dinners where you aren't sure of how much spice your guests can take! The lack of chilli also makes it a good option to serve kids. People will just keep coming back for more with this delectable recipe!
Ingredients
meat
- 2.2lb chicken, bone in
pantry
- 4 tspsalt ((please adjust to taste, see notes below))
- 2bay leaf
- 1 mediumstick cinnamon
- 2black cardamoms
- 5green cardamoms
- 10 cloves10 cloves
- 1star anise
- 1onions
- 2onions, sliced finely
- 2 tspcumin seeds
- 4 cup/1l broth (reserved from part 1) ((important: please read notes at the bottom if you are changing the serving size))
- 3 cupbasmati rice ((washed and soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before using))
produce
- 2 tbspcoriander seeds
- 2 tbspblack pepper corns
- 8garlic cloves
dairy
- 4 tbspghee
Steps
- First, we make the broth (yakhni).
- In a pot, add the chicken, coriander seeds, black pepper corns, garlic cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, star anise, salt and 1 onion (it doesn't have to be chopped).
- Cover with enough water to submerge the chicken.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and allow to simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Strain the broth using a colander.
- Discard the whole spices and reserve the liquid and chicken (keep both separate) until needed.
- You can squash the softened cloves of garlic into the liquid.
- Refer to the images in the blog post if needed.
- Now, in a wide pot, heat the ghee on medium heat.
- Once hot, add the sliced onions.
- Sauté till they are golden, stirring often to ensure they don't burn - about 8-12 minutes.
- The darker the onions are, the darker the colour of the rice will be.
- Add the cumin seeds once the onions turn transparent and limp.
- Once the onions turn golden, add the chicken you reserved from earlier.
- Fry everything till the chicken turns golden - about 3-4 minutes.
- Now, add the basmati rice and the broth you reserved from earlier.
- If you do not have enough broth, you can make up the shortfall with water.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low till the water dries up and the rice is soft, about 10 minutes (give or take).
- Turn the heat down very low and allow the rice to steam with the lid on (ideally lined with a cloth/towel) for 15-20 minutes.
- Your Chicken Pilau is ready!
- Fluff up well once the steam time is over, otherwise the rice may clump up.
Tips
- Recipe Source: Fatima Cooks
Source: Fatima Cooks
