For Christmas, I received a French enameled cast-iron braiser, something I’ve had my eye on for more than a decade! To break it in, I decided to try out two of my favourite things: a grilled cheese with ALL of the leftover holiday cheeses [pure joy] and one-pot stove-top chicken and rice. The braised chicken and rice became an obsession. I made it about five times over the course of the holiday break with different spice blends, pulsed vegetables, and aromatics. And, I’ve made it almost weekly since the kids went back to school. We just can’t get enough.

Below, you’ll find the Mother of All Recipes for Braised Chicken and Rice. Now, this recipe may seem like a lot of work. But it’s actually a simple, one-pot dish. Set your chicken thighs to marinate as you prep your veg. and aromatic pulses. Brown your chicken and set it aside. Brown a few pulses of onions and aromatics, lifting the brown bits in the braiser, before returning your chicken to the braiser along with rice and broth. Since I use jasmine or basmati rice, the remaining “braise” takes all of 15 minutes, mostly unattended on the stove, followed by a 5 minute rest off the heat. The whole recipe takes about 40 minutes from start to finish once you practice it a couple of times. Since you’ll want to make this deliciousness over and over again, you’ll have it down pat in no time.

My recipe is also super flexible. You can make Red “Tandoori” Spice chicken and rice or Green “Za’atar” chicken and rice. Or, you can substitute the spices in the chicken marinade and for the braise itself with whatever you happen to have around the kitchen. [P.S. I often just use Tandoori Masala and Za’atar spice blends from the international foods aisle in my local supermarket. I’ll provide a few homemade spice blend recipes on SSJ over the next little while.]

The result is a kind of cross between Biryani and Paella. You get pieces of fantastic chicken in a flavourful rice which sticks, a little, to the bottom of the braiser. And it develops that lovely “ring” or “edge” of spices around the rim so characteristic of paella. DIG IN!

Print Recipe

Braised Chicken and Rice : The Mother of All Recipes

Servings: 6 Servings

Author: Roseanne Carrara, Smelling Salts Journal

Ingredients

Essentials

6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs [1-1.25 kg]
3 tbs canola oil
1.5 c jasmine or basmati rice rinsed and drained
3 c chicken or vegetable broth

Quick Marinade

Juice of 1 large lemon about 3 tbsp [zest reserved]
1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
2 tbs your favourite ground spice blend: Tandori Masala [for the red Tandoori version] Za’atar [for the green Za’atar version], Italian, Greek, or Garam Masala

Pulses [Make One of Each]

Pulse One
3-5 cloves or 1 tbs minced garlic
Optional: 1 inch cube fresh ginger
1 medium onion
Pulse Two
1 to mato [for the red Tandoori version] OR 1 generous cup fresh green large-leaf herbs like cilantro [for the green Za’atar version] basil, or flat-leaf parsley.
Optional: 1-2 slices preserved lemon or preserved seville orange rinsed if desired.

Dried Spices for the Braise [Choose One Combination]

House Curry [for the Red Tandoori version]
Reserved lemon zest
1 broken cinnamon stick
1 tsp saffron
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp amchoor powder [optional]
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tsp ground chili powder
Easy Green [for the green Za’atar version]
Reserved lemon zest
1 broken cinnamon stick
3 tbs Za’atar
1 tsp saffron
DIY
Reserved lemon zest
1 tsp saffron
2-3 tbs of your favourite spices or spice blends such as Tandoori Masala, Garam Masala, Greek, or Italian Seasonings

Garnish

several tablespoons of chopped large-leafed herbs such as cilantro basil, or flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Quick Chicken Marinade

In a large bowl, coat the chicken thighs in lemon juice.
Sprinkle with salt.
Sprinkle the marinading spices over the chicken.
Set the chicken aside to marinate as you prepare the pulses.

Pulse One

In the bowl of a food processor or with a microplane, finely grate or pulverize the garlic and the [optional] ginger.
Quarter the onion, add it to the food processor and dice. Or, dice it by hand.
Move this pulse to a small bowl.
Note: You need not rinse the food processor to make pulse two.

Pulse Two

Halve the tomato, removing most of the seeds. Or, gather the herbs.
[Optional] In the bowl of the food processor or on a cutting board, finely dice the preserved lemon or orange, if using.
Add the tomato or herbs to the food processor and pulse until finely diced. Or, dice by hand and combine with the optional preserved citrus.

Browning the Chicken

In a 3.2 L braiser or a similar sized heavy bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Remove the chicken from the bowl of marinade. You may reserve the juice if you’d like.
Brown the chicken over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes per side. You can do this in batches, if necessary. You will probably want to lower the heat below the braiser slightly as you go along so the poultry does not burn.
Set the browned chicken aside on a plate, leaving the oil in the pan.

Heating the Pulses and Dried Spices for the Braise

Turn the heat to medium-low.
In the hot oil, brown the onion pulse slightly, stiring frequently for 2 minutes. Try to loosen the brown bits on the braiser with a wooden spoon or rubberized spatula as you go along.
Create a bit of a bald spot in the centre of the pulse.
Sprinkle your chosen Dried Spices for the Braise in the centre of the pan and allow the spices to open up for about 30 seconds.
Then, add the tomato or herb pulse and stir continuously for no more than 2 minutes, until the second pulse is warmed through.

Finishing the Braise

Add the rice and the 3 cups of broth [or the reserved marinade + enough broth to make 3 cups], and stir to combine, loosening more of the browned bits in the bottom of the braiser.
Add the chicken back to the pot and bring the broth to a boil.
Cover the braiser with the lid and bring the heat down to a simmer.
A few times during the simmering, you may want to run a wooden spoon beneath the chicken and across the bottom of the braiser to prevent the rice from burning. It WILL stick to the bottom of the braiser. The point is to create a paella-style dish.
Simmer for 13-15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through but not soft.
Remove the covered braiser from the heat and allow the dish to rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
Garnish with herbs, if desired.
Serve.