Sri Lankan Chicken
with Coconut & Courgette Pilaf and Coconut Yoghurt
Head Chef Patrick is currently on a Sri Lankan adventure. This week he took a boat to Cinnamon Island to meet the family who produce this beautiful spice. You can watch Patrick cooking this recipe under the shade of a cinnamon tree and meet the great great grandfather who shows him a surprising way of preparing the spice by going to blog.hellofresh.co.uk/sri-lanka/
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
1
Onion
1
Garlic Clove
1
Courgette
(May contain Celery)
½
Red Chilli
½
Fennel
1.5
Ground Coriander
1.5
Ground Cumin
¾
Ground Turmeric
150
Basmati Rice
1
Chicken Stock Pot
1
Cinnamon Stick
4
Chicken Thigh
25
Desiccated Coconut
1
Greek Style Natural Yoghurt
(Contains Milk)
1
Coriander
Not included in your delivery
300
Water
2
Olive Oil
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Halve, peel and finely chop the onion into ½cm pieces. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Remove the top and bottom from the courgette, halve lengthways then chop into 1cm cubes. Pick the coriander leaves from their stalks and finely chop both, but keep them separate. Halve the red chilli lengthways, remove the seeds and finely chop.
**Put a large saucepan on medium heat with a drizzle of oil. Add the onion and cook until softened, 5 mins. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, ground coriander, ground cumin, chilli (use less if you don't like spice!) and half the turmeric. Cook together for 1 minute. Add the basmati rice to your pan along with the courgette and the coriander stalks. Stir so the rice is nicely coated in the spices.
Pour in the water (amount specified in the ingredient list). Add the chicken stock pot and cinnamon stick. Stir to dissolve the stock pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low, pop on a lid and leave to cook for 10 mins then remove the pan from the heat and leave to rest with the lid on for another 10 mins. The rice will finish cooking in its own steam.
In a mixing bowl combine half the coriander leaves with the remaining turmeric and the olive oil (amount specified in the ingredient list). Add the chicken thighs and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix well until the chicken is evenly coated. Heat a frying pan on medium-high heat (no oil) and add the desiccated coconut. Stir and toast until golden, 1-2 mins. Remove from your pan and set aside.
Wipe out the pan with some kitchen paper and pop it back on medium-high heat. Once hot, lay in the chicken, skin-side down. Cook for 4-5 mins. Turn and cook for another 8 mins, turning every 3 mins until browned and cooked through. TIP: The chicken is cooked when it is no longer pink in the middle. Once cooked, remove the chicken to a board to rest for 2 mins.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice and fluff it up with a fork. Stir through half the remaining coriander leaves and half the toasted coconut. Stir the remaining coconut into the yoghurt. Cut the chicken into 1cm wide slices. Spoon the rice into bowls and pop the chicken on top. Finish with a dollop of coconut yoghurt and the rest of the coriander leaves. Enjoy!
