Fragrant Pilau Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2-3 tbs ghee or butter
• 4 cardamon pods
• 5-8 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• pinch saffron
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise (optional)
• 4 cups water or vegetable stock
• Salt

Directions:

1. Wash the rise in several changes of cold water, then leave to soak for about 30 minutes in fresh cold water. If you don't have time for this, place in a sieve and wash under the cold tap for a minute or so.
2. Cook the onion in the butter for around 5 minutes until softened. 
3. Add the spices, saffron and bay leaves and cook for a couple more minutes. 
4. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated in the butter before stirring in the stock or water and salt. 
5. Bring to the boil and then cover with a tight-fitting lid.
6. Turn the heat down low and leave to cook for 10 minutes before turning off the heat. Don't remove the lid; just leave the rice to continue cooking in the pan for about 5 minutes until you're ready to serve.
7. The rice should have absorbed all the water and will just need fluffing up with a fork. Cook longer if there is too much water left.

Chicken and Rice

It doesn't look very colorful but it's quite tasty.

This recipe is based on one from Pierre Franey's The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet.

I’ve reduced the meat, increased the rice, substantially reduced the fat and replaced the white wine—which I never have on hand—with a good sherry. This recipe works well with roasted broccoli. Although this recipe may sound similar to the chicken, Swiss cheese and rice recipe I posted earlier this year, they taste quite different from each other.

Ingredients:

4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 T butter
½ C finely chopped white onion
1 clove garlic, put through a press (more if you like, which I definitely do)
½ pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
½ good sherry, not cooking sherry
1 C raw white rice (see notes below if you want to use brown rice)
1 ½ C chicken broth or water

Directions:

1. In a large skillet that can hold all the chicken pieces in one layer plus the rice, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the chicken pieces and brown for about 5 minutes.
3. Turn the chicken, and add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and bay leaf. Make sure these don’t rest on the chicken but are getting sautéed. Cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the sherry and cook until it’s almost all evaporated. You may want to turn the chicken pieces during this bit so they all get a nice bath in the sherry.
5. Add the rice and broth, and make sure the rice doesn’t rest on top of the chicken pieces.
6. Cover closely and cook for 20 to 30 minutes over low heat until the rice is done.
7. Enjoy!

Notes:

• If you use bone-in chicken, you will need to increase your cooking time in steps 2 and 3.
• If you use brown rice instead of white rice, you’ll also need to increase the cooking time listed in step 5 to about an hour. You may also need to add extra liquid to the pan.
• This dish also makes a great side dish if you omit the chicken.

Curried Rice with Chicken

Originally this recipe was called Curry Glazed Chicken and it didn’t have rice or vegetables in it at all. But I have no problem with altering recipes both to provide more complete nutrition and also to stay within a budget. Meat tends to be pretty expensive compared to vegetables and rice and so this recipe morphed into a mostly meatless main dish.

Also a word about spices—don’t buy into the hype that you must replace all your spices every three days or something silly like that. If you can still taste the flavor, why would you replace your spices? Plus spices aren’t always cheap. We’ve found that if you shop the ethnic aisle of your supermarket you can often find what you need for less than the same product housed in the spice aisle. And don’t overlook online sources. We get a lot of ours from Herbco, including the curry powder I use in this recipe.

As written, this recipe serves two. You can easily double it though.

Ingredients:

1 C cooked rice (I use brown rice and steam it outside in my trusty steamer)
1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cooked (sauté it, bake it, microwave it—whatever works for you) and diced
1 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
¼ C honey
1 T Dijon style mustard
2 T curry powder (adjust for your own taste buds—remember, we like it hot)
½ white onion, coarsely chopped
1/3 C frozen peas
1 small or ½ medium carrot, peeled and diced. Note: I omitted the carrot this particular day because I served the Spicy Carrot Salad with it.
1 T canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients. Sauté the chopped onion.
2. Meanwhile, in a microwave proof bowl, mix the honey, mustard and curry powder together. Heat in the microwave until the honey is fairly runny.
3. (If you are using carrots, add them to the saucepan and continue cooking until cooked through, probably about five minutes.)
4. Add the ginger and continue to sauté.
5. Add the peas and chicken and heat thoroughly. If the pan gets a bit dry or things are sticking too much, add a little water or a bit more oil.
6. Add the rice and the sauce.
7. Mix thoroughly and let the sauce heat through.
8. Enjoy!

Chicken and Swiss Cheese Casserole

When Ben was growing up, I made a lot of chicken and rice dishes. A lot. So when he hit his teen years, he basically refused to eat them anymore. Now that he’s an adult, he's come to love those dishes and has even asked for a few of the recipes, including this one.

A few words before I get to the recipe: You can make your rice on the stove if you prefer, but I live in a “garden” apartment (that’s basement to the rest of the world) and I don’t need any more humidity in the house. So I use my rice steamer outside on the patio. That means my rice doesn’t get cooked with the herbs and onions in it, but it turns out just fine anyway. If you want to know the full, make it on the stove and then put it in the oven version, let me know in the comments.

Ingredients:

Casserole
2 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, either minced or put through a garlic press
3 C cooked rice (I use brown rice)
1/8 C sherry or white wine (not cooking wine) or vermouth
Water or broth to deglaze the pan
1 bay leaf
2 t dried thyme or about 1 t fresh
1 ½ C cooked, diced chicken
6 to 8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese

Topping
2 T butter
1 T flour
1/3 C milk
Paprika to sprinkle

Directions:

Casserole

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet.
3. Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter until the onion is clear.
4. Add the sherry or white wine or vermouth and enough water or broth to deglaze the pan.
5. Add the diced chicken and heat thoroughly.
6. Quickly combine the chicken mixture, cooked rice and Swiss cheese and put into a large greased casserole pan.

Topping

1. Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat.
2. Stir in the flour ensuring you have no lumps.
3. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly until thickened.
4. Pour over the casserole and sprinkle the top with paprika.
5. Cover and bake about 20 minutes.

I made this last night and fed four adults and two children. I foolishly thought we would have leftovers today. I was wrong.