Arabic Sweet Spiced Chicken With Raisin And Almond Rice Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 2cm chunks
• 70g tomato paste
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1cm pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 whole clove
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 150g basmati rice
• 25g almond flakes
• 25g raisins
• 10g coriander leaves and stalks, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Heat a medium saucepan with 2tbsp oil on medium heat. Cook the onion for about 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add the chicken, tomato paste, carrots and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add the whole spices to the chicken, along with 350ml water. Let everything simmer for 15-20 minutes on a medium heat, until the vegetables and meat are cooked through and the sauce slightly reduced.
3. Meanwhile, rinse the rice in a sieve. Place in a medium saucepan. Add 300ml cold water, a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. As soon as the water is boiling, turn the heat down to low, cover with a tight fitting lid and leave to simmer for 12-15 minutes. Leave to rest off the heat with the lid for 8 minutes or until ready to serve.
4. Heat a small frying pan on medium heat. Dry fry the almonds for a 1-2 minutes until golden brown, tossing them regularly to make sure they don’t burn.
5. As soon as the rice is done, fluff it up with a fork and combine it with the almonds and raisins. Season the curry with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with coriander.