Shawarma Rice

A quick and easy rice dish, with shawarma flavors…

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After ages, I am taking part in the Shh Cooking Secretely Challenge. For some or the other reason, I haven’t been able to do it, but this time when the theme was declared as “Exotic Biriyani and Pualo”, as suggested by Swaty, I thought, anyway, it is something that would get cooked some way or the other and it would be a good chance for me to try something new. So I signed up. I was assigned Sasmita as my partner. Please go off to see her Chana Dal Peda, which has got my knees literally weak!  I have already been with her in this challenge, so it was a cake walk doing the process with her. The secret ingredients were paprika and coriander, and both play a good role in this recipe!

I was planning to cook something when I was with my sister, however our schedule towards the end of the stay got really tight that I couldn’t squeeze it in. However, I am sure she will make this when she gets a chance, since she likes anything easy and with some Middle Eastern flavors… 🙂 The blog already has a lot of rice dishes. With rice being a staple during lunch, the amount of trials are not enough. I have a fussy bunch who are already bored of the matta rice-curry-fish-upperi schedule over the weekdays, that I make sure I make something else during the weekends. Having said that, one pot meals are so much better than biriyanis, which usually take a lot to time from start to finish, unless it is something that you are very comfortable with.

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Ever since I signed up for this challenge, I had nothing else in my mind than “Shawarma Rice”. The first time I had it was at a gathering early last year when everything was so normal and free to mingle. Our host had volunteered this rice for the potluck but she forgot the sauce while she packed. Despite it, it was a mildly flavorful rice, though if you aren’t fond of dry rice dishes like my folks, that sauce makes all the difference to the final dish. The chicken strips are marinated in a number of spices that contribute to the flavor that reminds you of the Shawarma. The rice is simply flavored with turmeric and stock cubes. The sauce that goes with it is very similar to the ones that get drizzled into a shawarma and gives it the damp edge.

It is a very much one pot meal. The chicken needs to be marinated for sometime for maximum flavor. But if you don’t have time, you can just keep it as much as the rice is being soaked. Once the chicken is cooked, the rice is partly cooked and then everything is cooked together in steam for sometime. The sauce is made from the side and kept cold till the time of serving. You can take chicken and rice as much as you want, then drizzle the sauce, and dig in! It is apt when you are going through low days, like I had when I had returned back, so you have food on your table! Hehe…

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5 from 16 votes

Shawarma Rice

Course Main Course

Cuisine Arabian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR CHICKEN

• 750 gm boneless chicken cut into strips
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder/ cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• Salt to taste

FOR RICE

• 30 gm butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cup basmati rice soaked for 30 minutes, washed and drained
• 2 stock cubes
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp minced coriander leaves

FOR SAUCE

• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp tahini paste heaped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Wash and drain the chicken strips. Combine all the ingredients under "For Chicken" and allow to marinate as much as possible. If you are time stretched, you can marinate as much as the rice soaks.
• In a saucepan, melt butter and olive oil. Add the chicken and cook till almost done. Drain and set aside.
• Add more butter/ oil if neede, the soaked and drained rice along with the spices and saute for five minutes.
• Add 4 cups of water and the stock cubes and allow it to come to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and keep the flame to the minimum.
• Once the rice absorbs all the water, sprinkle the cooked chicken over it and the coriander leaves. Cover with foil and close the lid tight.
• Cook for 15 minutes and switch off.
• For making the sauce, mix all the ingredients in the bowl till smooth. Taste test and adjust as per taste. Keep cold till serving time.
• Serve the rice and chicken along with the sauce, and a side of salad and even potato fries.

Do hop onto Sasmita’s blog to see what she has made with the secret ingredients I gave her for this challenge…

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