Chicken Matar Pulao
Pakistani Pulao (pilaf) is a rice dish cooked in a season broth. The rice gets its brown hue from fried onions. This recipe calls for store-bought chicken stock to save time! Results are nothing less than delicious!
Ingredients
- ¼-1/2 cup oil
- 3 black cardamom
- 5 cloves whole
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 5 black peppercorns whole
- 2 red onion sliced
- 2 green chilis slit lengthwise
- 2 lbs chicken thighs boneless, skinless and cut into medium chunks
- 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 3 cups chicken stock You may need ¾ cup more stock
- 2 cups Basmati rice pre-soaked
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup green peas
Instructions
- In a pot over medium heat, add oil and whole spices and let sizzle for 30 seconds.
- Next, add onions and fry for 25-30 minutes until brown on low to medium heat.
- After 30 mins, add green chilis, slit lengthwise and stir for 30 seconds,
- Add chicken along with ginger garlic paste and coriander powder and stir well until chicken pieces are coated in spices and onion, and is no longer pink.
- Next, add 1 cup of the chicken stock. Let it come to a boil, then cover the pot for 10 minutes to allow chicken to cook halfway through.
- After 10 mins, add rice along with the remaining stock (2 cups), green peas and plenty of salt. (More salt than normal because the rice will absorb the liquid.)
- After liquid comes to a boil, cover the pot and allow to simmer for 15-20 mins or until rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Next, drape the pot with a kitchen cloth and cover with the lid for 10-15 minutes on very low heat. This will seal the aroma and flavor and also finish cooking the rice.
- Serve hot with raita or chutney and some pickled onions.
Notes
- I find that for stock, the best ratio is double the amount of rice. So use 4 cups instead of 3 cups as listed above.
- This recipe calls for store-bought stock, but I have now been making it fresh and using the same chicken in the pulao. For fresh stock, add your chicken to 8 cups of boiling water along with a couple cloves, 1 black cardamom, an inch cinnamon, a bulb of garlic, ½ an onion. Let simmer for 20 minutes, remove the chicken and continue cooking the stock for another 10 minutes. The stock should have reduced to about 4-5 cups.