Halal Chicken and Rice

I have a love for the food carts in New York City. It's one of the things that makes me miss living in the city especially in the summer. What's interesting is that almost every major city around the world has some type of street food. In New York, there's a long history of immigrants from Greece to Sri Lanka running food carts. The regional distinctions of the owning are sometimes reflected in the food. One of the most well known is the Halal Guys food cart, which is why this post is titled Halal Chicken and Rice.

I was in the mood for a spicy summer dish that didnt feel heavy but was still filling. Since I was looking for spicy but light in flavor I knew it had to be something Mediterranean (the use of citrus helps to balance the spice). Then I thought, it's been a while since I've had some street food. It was something my friends and I would always do in the summer when we had a little more time. Head uptown, get some food and hang out in the park all day. Luckily, I was able to find a recipe for Halal Chicken and Rice from Serious Eats.  I just made a couple of minor adjustments to the recipe so that it worked for my family.

Note: This dish is quick to make once the chicken has marinated.

Halal Chicken and Rice

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

For the Chicken:
2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts cubed
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ onion powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 cloves chopped garlic
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
kosher salt (at least 1/4 teaspoon)
ground black pepper

For the rice:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1½ Basmati rice
2½ chicken broth
salt & pepper

For the white sauce:
1 cup of Greek yogurt
½ cup of mayo
½ tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ fresh parsley
salt
2 tablespoons black pepper

Red Sauce - Sriracha

Directions:

Combine lemon juice, oregano, coriander, cumin, garlic and olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth.

Season mixture with salt and pepper then coat chicken

Place half the mixture in a bowl or food storage bag with the chicken

Allow chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour

Place remaining olive oil mixture in the fridge to use for later.

Remove chicken from olive oil mixture and season with salt and pepper

heat oil in a heavy (cast iron) pan on medium high heat

Add chicken to pan and cook until brown, about 3 to 4 minutes

Reduce heat to medium and flip chicken allowing it to cook through

Remove chicken from heat and allow to cool

Once cooled place chicken in a bowl with the remaining marinade and place in the fridge

Melt butter over medium heat in a dutch oven or a metal pot.

Add turmeric and cumin to pot and cook for approximately 1 minute

Add rice and stir to coat the rice

Continue to stir until coated rice is lightly toasted

Add chicken broth and season with salt and pepper

Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil

Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer

Cook rice for an additional 15 minutes

Remove from heat and allow rice to rest until it is tender


For sauce combine mayo, yogurt, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, parsley and 2 tablespoons of black pepper.

Whisk together and salt to taste

Return chicken marinating in bowl to pan and cook over medium high heat until hot

Pile chicken on a half cup of rice with lettuce and tomato and some pita bread.

Drizzle white sauce and Sriracha if you like spice over chicken and rice. Done!!

I think we need more dishes like this. Quick comforting and reminiscent of summer.

What type of street food do you enjoy?