Tahchin with chicken
CHICKEN INGREDIENTS
- 3 mediums to large chicken legs
- 1 onion
- 2 teaspoons of turmeric
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- 50 ml of water
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
INGREDIENTS TAHCHIN
- 200 grams basmati rice
- 150 grams of yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons zereshke (dried barberries) *
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground saffron or saffron threads
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon grated pistachios (optional)
- 1 teaspoon almond shavings (optional)
- 2 tbsp salt for cooking the rice + extra for seasoning
METHOD OF PREPARATION CHICKEN
First prepare the saffron. Place 2 ice cubes in a bowl and add the saffron threads. Let this melt at room temperature. Cut the onion into coarse pieces, put some sunflower oil in the pan and fry the onion. Add the chicken legs and fry them until nicely brown on all sides. Add the tomato puree, turmeric, salt and black pepper and fry this with the chicken. Once everything is mixed together, add the water and turn the heat down. Place the lid on the pan for about 30-35 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken legs). Keep a close eye on it and stir it occasionally so that it doesn’t stick. After about 20 minutes, add the saffron and let it cook further.
METHOD OF PREPARATION RICE
Wash the rice in a bowl of water. And drain the water every time. You want water that is clear. Once you have achieved that, fill the bowl of rice with water and a tablespoon of salt. Let this stand for about 2 hours. Now you can start preparing your chicken.
After 2 hours you can bring a lot of water to the boil in a pan. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in it (don’t worry, excess salt will be washed away later. But trust me, without this amount of salt your rice will taste bland). Add the rice, stir well and let the water boil again.
Let the rice boil for a few minutes. The cooking time depends on the rice you use. After about 3 minutes, remove a grain of rice from the pan and break it with your fingernail. It may take 3 to 7 minutes for your rice to be ready. I used Tilda basmati rice from Albert Heijn and it was al dente after 3 minutes. If the outside is cooked but the center of the rice grain is still firm, it is ready. You can now drain the rice and rinse well with cold water. Do this well as you want all the excess salt to be rinsed off.
Preparation method tahchin
Mix the egg with the yoghurt, the rest of the dissolved saffron and a little salt in a bowl. Add the rice and stir well until it turns yellow evenly.
Choose a non-stick pan because you don’t want your tahchin to stick. I used a 24 cm frying pan, which must have a lid. Melt the butter in the frying pan. Make sure that not only the bottom but also the sides of your pan are smeared with butter. Add the rice to the pan. Add another 1 tablespoon of boiled water over your rice and poke a few holes (to the bottom of your pan)
Place the pan over medium to high heat. As soon as you see steam rising from the rice, put the lid on and reduce the temperature to low. You can cover the lid with a clean tea towel. Let the tahchin cook for 30-40 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the zereshk (barberries). Wash the zereshk and fry them briefly in 1 tbsp butter with 2 tsp sugar. This should not take more than 10 seconds, otherwise the zereshk will burn. Mix the zereshk, sugar and butter with 1 tablespoon of freshly boiled water and the flaked almonds and pistachios. Set it aside for later. You can get zereshk / barberries at the Iranian store. I know some Turkish stores sell it too.
Reheat your chicken or if it is still on the stove, turn off the heat. Now it’s time to serve this delicious chicken tahchin.
Put on oven mitts, remove the lid from the pan and place a serving dish upside down on top. Carefully turn the pan over and remove it. Now you have a wonderfully scented tahchin. Decorate it nicely with the zereshk mixture. Place your chicken and gravy in a separate bowl, because the gravy is delicious with this.
Enjoy your meal!