Chicken and Pepper Rice

Chicken and Pepper Rice

Rice dishes are great in our family as everyone loves them and it’s a complete meal in a pan. This makes for less washing up and therefore life is simpler for me!.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

400 g basmati rice

750 g chicken breast sliced

2 stalks celery

Small pinch of saffron

3 tablespoons of oil

Clove of garlic

Cinnamon stick

2 green cardamom pods

2 cloves

1 star anise

1 tablespoon chopped ginger

2 small red chillies

750 ml chicken stock

1/2 red bell pepper sliced

1/2 green bell pepper sliced

1/2 yellow bell pepper sliced

Method:

Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. You can use a sieve to do this but I normally place the rice in a bowl and fill it with water. Stir the rice with a wooden spoon and drain water away and repeat 8 times. By the end of this process the water is running clear and you have saved water! On the last rinse, leave the rice to soak in the bowl for at least 20 minutes.

Make up the chicken stock and add the saffron to this.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the chicken and celery. Stir regularly for 5 minutes or until the celery is soft.

Reduce the heat to low and add a further tablespoon of oil and all the remaining spices. Drain the rice and add this to the pan and stir until coated.

Add the chicken stock and bell peppers to the pan. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and cover and cook for 20 minutes (or until the liquid is absorbed).

If you can find the spices, remove them before serving.

Additional Notes:

Change the taste of this dish by adding different vegetables such as baby sweetcorn.

Equipment Used:

Frying Pan.