Chicken tahchin
Middle Eats · ♥ 3.4K likes · 88.6K views · 10 min video
Read about thighs in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1¼ kg chicken thighs
Heat a large stainless steel pot over medium high heat, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and brown the chicken in batches, skin side down, four to five minutes a side to a golden colour.
- 2 whole onions
Add the thinly sliced onions with 1.5 teaspoons of salt to the rendered chicken fat and brown bits, and cook about five minutes over medium high heat until soft and translucent.
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 stick cinnamon
Add a small cinnamon stick, return the chicken, and pour over about 3 litres of water or enough to submerge it. Turn the heat to high.
- 3 l water
As it comes to a boil, skim off as much of the scum as possible with a strainer or ladle.
Turn down to a simmer on medium, cover, and simmer 30 to 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- 150 g dried barberries
Wash 150 g of dried barberries in water and drain.
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
Remove the chicken, leaving the onions, add a teaspoon of black pepper, a teaspoon of ground cardamom and all the washed barberries, and simmer on medium for 20 minutes to reduce to a gravy.
- 600 g basmati rice
Wash 600 g of basmati rice three to four times to remove the starch, and use it straight away or leave it soaking in room temperature water so the grains do not crack.
- salt
Boil the rice like pasta: a large pot of water on high heat, a bunch of salt, then the washed rice for about two to three minutes, tasting every 20 seconds after that.
- 250 g thick greek yogurt
When the grains are just cooked, move them straight into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking, then drain in a colander.
- 1 whole egg
- 2 whole egg yolks
- ½ g saffron
- salt
- 100 ml boiling water
Grind about half a gram of saffron with a little salt in a mortar to a powder, add 100 ml of boiling water and let it bloom 15 minutes to an intense gold.
- 30 g vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Whisk the bloomed saffron liquid into 250 g thick greek yogurt with one whole egg, two egg yolks, 30 g vegetable oil, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper until smooth and egg yolk yellow.
Pour the golden liquid over the rice in a large bowl and fold it gently with a spatula so the grains do not break.
Remove and discard the chicken skins, pull the meat off the bones and tear it into bite sized chunks.
Mix the chicken with some of the gravy until saucy but not soaking, and reserve the leftover sauce.
- 40 g vegetable oil
Add about 40 g of vegetable oil to a non-stick pot with curved edges and preheat it on the stove. Once the oil shimmers, press about two thirds of the rice over the base and up the walls in an evenly thick shell, keeping the bottom of the walls from going thin.
Fill the shell with the chicken right to the edges in an even layer, level it, add the remaining rice on top and flatten with the back of the spatula.
Cover with the lid and bake in a preheated 180 degrees Celsius oven for 45 minutes, then remove the lid and return it for another 20 to 30 minutes.
- 15 g butter
- 2 tsp sugar
- 50–75 g barberries
Glazed barberries: melt 15 g butter with 2 teaspoons of sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, add 50 to 75 g of washed barberries and cook two to three minutes until they puff up and round out.
It is done when the edges are crisp and pulled away from the walls and the top has crisped and dried; give it longer if not. Let it sit about 10 minutes to firm up.
Place a large platter over the pot, grip both with a cloth and flip the whole thing over to release.
- pistachio slivers
Garnish with the candied barberries and pistachio slivers and serve in large slices with plenty of sauce.