Chicken Gabooli
Chicken and Indian spices to me are a marriage made in heaven. Nothing beats a roasted chicken served with wonderfully aromatic spiced rice.
This recipe came from a dear Indian friend, who bakes this dish and serves immediately, however, as I am always looking for shortcuts and this recipe does take time to make if preparing and serving all in one go, so as I mention in the NOTES section, if you want to make in stages go ahead.
Firstly, it does help to make the Gabooli Spice a few days before (remember it will keeps days/ weeks / months in an airtight container) and the link for recipe is below :
Gabooli Spice recipe click here Gabooli Spice
Instructions if you wish to make in stages:
Poach chicken either the night before or several hours ahead.
When you have the flavoured poaching stock, follow the recipe to step 14 or what I term as the final stage and only cook the rice for only 30 minutes in the oven, and once this is completed STOP, remove from the oven and set aside. Oil and spice rub the chicken, lightly cover with foil and keep chilled in the fridge. By doing this everything is ready to go, for the final stage of cooking.
Half an hour before serving, turn on the oven to 150˚ and re-heat the rice for a further 30 minutes alongside the uncovered, spice rubbed chicken. As both the chicken and rice are already cooked, this final 30 minutes in a moderately hot oven is to give the rice the last half an hour of cooking and to heat and crisp the chicken. Serve immediately.
Ingredients
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1 large chicken- clean and trimmed of excess fat
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Poaching Stock
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1 large onion- peeled and quartered
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Pinch of sea salt
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5 cardamom pods- whole
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5 black peppercorns- whole
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1 cinnamon stick- 3 cm long
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1 clove garlic- peeled and whole
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Enough cold water to generously cover chicken in the poaching pot
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Gabooli Rice
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500g basmati rice- washed and soaked 20 minutes or so
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Pinch salt- optional
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2 tbsp vegetable oil- good quality sunflower or safflower
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1 onion- peeled and chopped
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2 cloves of garlic- papery skin removed and finely chopped
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2 tbsp gabooli spice + 1 tbsp for chicken rub
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4 dried black lemons- soaked and roughly chopped
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½ tsp ground black lemon powder
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Freshly ground black pepper
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Generous 1 litre of the poaching stock- or equivalent of 6 cups
Instructions
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Soak black lemons:
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01 Place lemons in a small bowl and pour over plenty of boiling hot water. If necessary place a saucer or small dish on top of lemons to weigh them down into the hot water. Leave to soften for 30 minutes or so (it takes a while). Discard water once soft enough to chop.
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Prepare rice:
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02 Rinse the rice well in cold water, and allow to soak for up to 20 minutes or soak.
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Poach chicken:
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03 Place the chicken and all poaching ingredients into a large deep saucepan, add enough cold water to cover the chicken, bring to simmering point and slowly poach the chicken for 45 minutes until tender.
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04 Allow chicken to cool in the stock before removing. When cool remove and set aside.
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05 Strain stock, discard flavourings and reserve for cooking with the basmati rice.
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Cook rice:
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06 Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan for the rice. Add the onions and garlic and soften on a low heat for approx 5 minutes.
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07 Now add 2 tbsp Gabooli spice, stir for 2 minutes and add chopped (soaked) black lemons and lemon powder. Now add drained soaked rice plus 6 cups of the reserved flavoured stock - equivalent to a generous 1 litre. Bring to the boil then reduce to a low simmer.
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08 Cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until the rice is nearly tender, and has absorbed the stock.
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09 Place above rice in a buttered baking dish, cover tightly with foil and place in a moderate oven 150º C and bake for 40 minutes or so.
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Final stage:
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10 Pour oil on the chicken and sprinkle 1 tbsp Gabooli spice all over. Rub this in and roast separately uncovered in the oven alongside the rice for up to 30-45 minutes.
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11 Serve the chicken with the hot Gabooli spiced rice, either sliced or whole.
Notes
This may look a rather complicated recipe but actually it is a very versatile dish as it can be made in stages ahead of time. I recommend making the Gabooli spice well ahead – it keeps for months. The chicken can be poached the night before (the left over stock once the 6 cups are removed, can either be frozen or used as the base for a great tasting soup). The first stage of cooking the rice can be made several hours ahead, covered and held until the final stages of cooking when both rice and chicken can be completed together (see above for instructions). Why make life difficult for yourself – prepare ahead and create less stress.
