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–+ servings

Baked Chicken and Cardamom Rice

Tender, juicy chicken thighs and perfectly cooked flavourful rice. And best of all it all cooks in one baking dish!
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Moroccan, North African, Persian inspired
Keyword: baked chicken, cardamom, casseroles, dried fruit, one-pan dinner, simple
Servings: 4
Calories: 784kcal

Ingredients

  • 4-6 chicken thighs, bone in/skin on
  • 60 grams dried apricots thickly sliced
  • 12 garlic cloves peeled
  • 4 large shallots peeled and cut into quarters
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • 10-12 cardamom pods or 1½ tsp ground cardamom
  • 60 ml olive oil
  • 300 grams basmati rice
  • ½ a lemon juice and zest
  • salt and pepper
  • 600 ml boiling water
  • 1 small bunch fresh coriander

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 175°C
  • Toast the cardamom pods in a dry skillet. Let them cool for a minute, then remove the seeds from the pods. Grind the seeds in a ​mortar and pestle or a spice grinder .
  • Place the chicken thighs, shallots, garlic, cinnamon sticks, apricots and the thyme in a large casserole dish. Add the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper and 1/2 of the cardamom and mix well.
  • Place in the oven with the chicken thighs skin side up, bake until the chicken is golden brown and the shallots are soft, about 30 minutes.
  • Increase the oven temperature to 230°C.
  • Remove from the oven. Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and set aside.
    Rinse the rice 2-3 times in cold water to remove any excess starch.
    Add the rice, to the baking dish along with the juice and zest of a lemon. Season with salt and pepper, the allspice and remaining cardamom.
    Roughly chop the tender stems of the fresh coriander and add to the rice, reserving the leaves for garnish.
    Gently mix, until the rice is evenly coated with the spices and olive oil from the baking dish.
    Bring the water to a boil and pour over the rice.
  • Return the chicken thighs to the baking dish, laying them skin side up on top of the rice.
    Seal the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is cooked.
    Remove from the oven and let rest, covered for 5-10 minutes.
  • Serve garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Nutrition

Calories: 784kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 754mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 726IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 4mg
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