One Skillet Baked Chicken Shawarma and Rice (Pilaf) Recipe

Oooh! Two of my favorite Center Jap meals baked collectively in a single pan! This Baked Chicken Shawarma and Rice is made with chicken coated with Shawarma seasoning that’s seared then plonked on a aromatic rice with chickpeas earlier than baking. When it’s within the oven, the the beautiful juices from the chicken mingles with the rice, including unimaginable flavour you simply can’t purchase!

My household will rib me for sharing one more Center Jap recipe. And one more one skillet recipe! I really like that they don’t have any management over what I submit. Not like deciding the menu for our common household dinners. The variety of emails that fly forwards and backwards as we argue over what the menu will probably be and who’s making what…..

Oh boy. It’s ridiculous. Absolute plain proof that I used to be born right into a foodie household!

Chicken Shawarma is one in every of my most requested recipes. By my pals, that’s. Nobody in my household has ever requested me for this recipe. It’s a matter of precept. They’ll’t make enjoyable of how typically I make Center Jap dishes then come crawling to me for my secret Chicken Shawarma recipe!

It’s not-so-secret anymore anyway as a result of I shared my stovetop / BBQ Chicken Shawarma recipe final yr – you could find it right here. Hmm. I’m wondering if anybody in my household has used the recipe? 😉

One of many causes I really like Chicken Shawarma a lot is as a result of I feel that the trouble vs flavour is off the charts. Only a handful of spices packs a severe punch! And it’s spices that I all the time have in inventory – cumin, coriander, paprika and cardamon. Generally I add cayenne pepper too, for a little bit of a kick (I’ve made it non-obligatory for this recipe).

So it was only a matter of time earlier than I created a one pot model of Chicken Shawarma. Nicely, not one pot. One skillet. A minimum of, that’s what I used, however it could actually undoubtedly be made in a pot too! In actual fact, that is ultimate to make in a dutch oven. 🙂

The fantastic good thing about cooking the chicken and the rice collectively in a single pot is that the juices of the chicken drips down into the rice as they cook dinner. So principally, the rice is being cooked with the finest inventory on this planet! There may be a lot flavour within the rice, actually, I’d be completely satisfied to forgo the chicken and simply have the rice for dinner!

Nicely really, that’s only a blatant lie. I’m not passing on the chicken. I would like BOTH!

The pilaf for this Baked Chicken Shawarma and Rice is customized from a recipe by the nice Yotam Ottolenghi, from his cookbook Jerusalem. It’s flavoured with a contact of cardamon and a few cinnamon sticks and the perfume is delicate and unique.

As a result of the spice rub for the chicken is so intense, it isn’t essential to marinate for very lengthy. Although it actually would profit from marinating in a single day. So long as you get a little bit of pores and skin with every chunk of chicken, there’s loads of flavour, so I hardly ever marinate it. I think about this Baked Chicken Shawarma and Rice to be my midweek model.

We’re half approach via the week! Again Friday with one thing delish for the weekend. 🙂

One Skillet Baked Chicken Shawarma and Rice (Pilaf) Recipe

Print

Serves: 5 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 50 minutes 50 minutes

Nutrition facts: 604 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 large garlic clove , minced (or 2 small cloves)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (or ordinary is fine)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 chicken thigh fillets , bone in, skin on - about 2 lb / 1kg in total (Note 1)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion , finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 1/2 cups long grain rice , uncooked (Note 2)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or water)
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 - 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
• 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder)
• 400g (14oz) can chickpeas , drained (1 can)
• 1/4 cup raisins or sultanas (optional)
• Yoghurt (plain, unsweetened. Greek yoghurt is great)
• Cilantro/coriander leaves , roughly chopped
• Parsley leaves , roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Mix the Spice Rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Slather onto the chicken, covering both sides.
3. Optional: Marinate for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours. (Note 3)
4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until light golden brown.
5. Remove chicken from skillet. Scrape off excess black bits stuck to the pan and discard, along with excess oil (but leave some to cook the onion).
6. Add garlic and onion. Cook for 2 minutes until translucent.
7. Add rice and stir so the grains are coated in oil and become a bit translucent.
8. Add remaining ingredients. Place the chicken on top - it should be half submerged with the skin above the surface. Pour in the juices from the plate as well.
9. Bring to simmer, then place a lid on (or cover with foil) and transfer to oven.
10. Bake for 35 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
12. Remove chicken from the rice and mix the rice quickly (to evenly distribute flavour).
13. Serve, garnished with cilantro/coriander and parsley if desired. I also like to serve it with a bit of plain yoghurt. (Note 4)

Notes

1. You can make this with any other cut of chicken, you just need to adjust the length of time it is in the oven. - Drumsticks and large breast fillets - follow recipe- Small to medium chicken breast fillets - bake for 25 to 35 minutes, so put it in the oven 10 to 15 minutes after the rice has been in the oven- Boneless skinless thigh fillets - put in oven on the rice after the rice has been in the oven for 15 minutesAlso, if you want to make this with chicken breast fillets, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the Marinade, otherwise it will be too dry to sear.
2. This can be made with white long grain or medium grain rice. Jasmin and basmati will work too. Short grain white rice can be used as a last resort. This recipe is not suitable for arborio (risotto rice), calasparra (paella rice) or brown rice (takes too long to cook in the oven).
3. The flavours of the spice rub are quite strong. So as long as you get a bit of skin/chicken surface with each bite, there is plenty of flavour even without marinating. Plus, because it is half braised, there is extra flavour from the braising liquid too.
4. Yoghurt - you can fancy up the yoghurt a bit if you want. If I'm cooking for company, I will make a yoghurt sauce with 1 1/2 cups of yoghurt, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper.
5. This makes more rice than for 5 servings. I think it makes enough for 7 servings.
6. The nutrition analysis below takes into account that I discard 3 tablespoons of fat that rendered out when I browned the chicken and that this recipe makes enough rice for 7 servings.