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Curried Chicken & Rice

Bill Granger's Curried Chicken & Rice

Bill Granger’s Curried Chicken & Rice is a one-pot wonder! It is super simple to make, extremely tasty and comes together with only a handful of ingredients. For a dish to taste this good with only a some basic pantry items, it is a win win in my book! I like to pair with a cucumber raita and some greens beans on the side but Bill's Cucumber & Lime salad is also a winner.
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Total Time:1 hour
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Baked Chicken, Baked Rice, Best chicken
Servings: 4 people
Author: Kate

Equipment

  • Flameproof casserole dish (Dutch oven)

Ingredients

CURRIED CHICKEN & RICE

  • 1kg chicken pieces, bone in & skin on (see Notes)
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder (I used Keens)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 300g basmati rice
  • 750ml (3 cups) liquid chicken stock

CUCUMBER & MINT RAITA (OPTIONAL)

  • 1 large Lebanese cucumber, halved & deseeded
  • 1 cup natural style Greek yoghurt
  • ¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala (or ground cumin)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

BILL'S CUCUMBER & LIME SALAD (OPTIONAL)

  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved & chopped
  • 3 spring/green onions, sliced
  • Small handful fresh whole mint leaves
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • pinch of sea salt

TO SERVE (OPTONAL)

  • Natural style Greek yoghurt (if not making the raita above)
  • Steamed green beans
  • Fresh mint leaves

Instructions

CURRIED CHICKEN & RICE

  • Preheat oven to 200℃. Place the chicken pieces into a large bowl. Add the curry powder and toss to coat well. (Alternately, place into a plastic bag and shake until evenly coated).
  • Place a heavy-based casserole pan with tight fitting lid over medium heat. Add the oil and chicken pieces and cook until they are sealed and browned all over. Remove the chicken to a plate.
  • Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until the onion is soft and pale golden in colour. Add the rice, stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Return the chicken to the pan in a single layer over the rice. Carefully pour over the stock. Cover with the lid and transfer to the oven. Bake for 45 minutes of until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid and the chicken is cooked through. Serve with Cucumber & Mint Raita or serve Bill's way with Greek yoghurt and the Cucumber and Lime salad on the side. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve with steamed green beans on the side.

CUCUMBER & MINT RAITA

  • Coarsely grate the cucumber with a box grater then squeeze out excess liquid. Place into a bowl along with remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Cover and chill until required. Serve with the Curried Chicken and Rice.

CUCUMBER & LIME SALAD (BILL'S)

  • Combine cucumber, spring/green onions and mint leaves in a bowl.
  • Whisk olive oil, lime juice and salt together then drizzle over the cucumber salad and lightly toss to combine. Serve on the side with the Curried Chicken & Rice.

Notes

  • COOKS NOTES:
    Oven Temps:
    Oven temperatures are for conventional, if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C.
    Measurements: We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon = 5 ml, 1 tablespoon = 20 ml & 1 cup =  250 ml.
    Herbs: All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed.
    Vegetables: All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified.
    Eggs: We use extra-large size and eggs are 55-60 g each, unless specified.
  • CHICKEN PIECES
    You can purchase 1kg of already cut chicken pieces such as legs or thighs or chop a 1.4 - 1.6kg chicken into 8 serving pieces as I do. If buying pieces, you can use just 1 type of cut (such as thigh cutlets) or a mixture of different cuts.
  • BILL GRANGER
    This recipe comes from Bill Granger in his book Simply Bill, page 21.