ONE POT INDIAN CHICKEN BIRYANI

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces or 1.5 pounds boneless chicken thighs
• 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, well stirred*
• 1 tsp sea salt, to taste
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped**
• 4 cloves garlic, minced**
• 1 2/3 cups white basmati rice
• 3.5 cups chicken bone broth
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/3 cup golden raisins

Toppings:

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Transfer the raw chicken pieces to a large bowl (or a zip lock bag) with the coconut milk and sea salt. Stir everything well until the chicken is well-coated in coconut milk and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet (you’ll need a deep skillet with a lid that can hold liquid) or Dutch oven.
3. Place the marinated bone-in chicken pieces on the hot skillet and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until chicken has browned. Flip and cook on the other side another 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Continue cooking the chicken for 3 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside on a plate.
5. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, including the browned chicken and the coconut milk from the marinade, and stir well. Increase heat and bring to a full boil. Cook for 3 minutes at a full boil. While the mixture is boiling, stir the contents of the skillet around to ensure the rice is evenly distributed so that it cooks evenly.
6. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and allow skillet to sit an additional 20 minutes, or until rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Stir well and serve with sliced almonds and fresh parsley or cilantro.