A nod to Indian biryani, buttery rice tossed with shredded coconut gets baked together with a savory chicken stew in this satisfying veg-packed casserole dish.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- Golden raisins, for topping
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 1/2 cups coconut water
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 bunches scallions, roughly chopped
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/2 habanero chile pepper, seeded
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Freshly ground pepper
- 3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the rice, coconut water, 1/2 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover; cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the butter and coconut; set aside.
- Meanwhile, combine the scallions, cilantro, thyme, garlic, habanero and 1/2 cup water in a food processor or blender; puree to make a smooth paste. Transfer 1 tablespoon to a small bowl; stir in the curry powder, turmeric, cumin, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 cup water. Transfer the remaining paste to a large bowl and add the chicken and 1 teaspoon salt; toss to coat.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the curry-scallion paste; cook, stirring, until the paste darkens and starts to separate, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost cooked through, 15 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium high. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 more minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups water, the carrots, chickpeas and spinach. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer until the chicken is tender, 15 more minutes.
- Transfer the chicken mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and top with the rice mixture. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Top with golden raisins.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 771 |
| Total Fat | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 55 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 40 g |
| Cholesterol | 174 mg |
| Sodium | 1078 mg |
Reviews
This was pretty good, though I substituted the 3lbs chicken for 1lb vegan “chicken”. Used a whole habanero. It did take quite a while so make sure you set aside enough time.
Delicious! Lots of flavor! I will use a whole habanero next time and it needed more salt. Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
This was not great and it took an actual hour and a half to prepare. We liked the amount of spice. Like other reviewers I felt it made no sense to leave my oven at 425 for so long so I turned it on much later. I also thought the chicken cooking time was way too long so I shortened it before baking. 10 mins covered then added everything else and simmered another 10 before baking. Neither me or my husband liked it and we are both big fans of curry dishes normally. I think I’m going to turn the leftovers into a soup by adding coconut milk and green beans. It really needed something else.
Good dinner made tonight 1/31/21. Added Curry powder after to make a bit spicier. Times seemed too long in recipe so shortened, chicken was perfect.
The casserole turned out tasty, but I made several modifications that had I not made would have resulted in a dry, rather tasteless dish. Previous reviewers were right in that this is lightly spiced. I tasted the onion/cilantro/habanero sauce after blending and wound up putting the entire habanero in, as once the sauce was spread over 3 lbs of chicken the heat was barely noticeable. Also, over an hour of cooking for cubed chicken thigh is RIDICULOUS. I cooked it covered for 15 minutes, and then added the vegetables, cooking for about 5 more minutes. (Why would you cook all the sauce off and then add water back, diluting the flavor?) 25 minutes in the oven and the chicken was still juicy, instead of dry and stringy, and the carrots were cooked but still firm. Next time I will increase the amount of rice to a cup and a half – one cup over a baking dish created a rather thin and sad layer, not really the ratio I like in my Indian food. I also added 3+ tablespoons of butter to the rice. The dish could definitely use more heat and spice, so I’ll likely increase the sauce and spice amount next time too. Overall it’s a great idea, just one that needs a lot of tweaking.
This is a nice mildly spiced recipe for those not accustomed to a genuine Indian biryani. I followed the recipe exactly as I was testing to see if it would be suitable for dinner guests who may not be spicy food fans. That being said, I will be making it again, but the recipe does not give an accurate prep time. Preheating the oven to 425 as the first step is ridiculous when it takes over an hour to do the prep work of cutting, blending, and cooking before it goes into the oven.
I really liked this. It was also great for leftovers. My kids picked at it and each liked parts. I think the green paste would be great on chicken outside of the casserole. I have two questions. Are you suppose to rinse the rice? Also, the step where you add the paste to the hot oil, is it really to cook for five minutes? Mine seperated immediately.
My people enjoyed this. However I would half the chicken and increase veggies. I used habanero hot sauce as I forgot to buy a fresh pepper. Only about a teaspoon. Added plenty of heat. Rice was a nice crust…
Not the best recipe, but not the worse. It was just ok. Will not make again but I will eat what I made.