Spiced Chicken and Rice With Cardamom and Cinnamon
Published June 4, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1½pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1½- to 2-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1small red onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
- 1garlic clove, minced
- 1(3-inch) cinnamon stick
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½teaspoon ground turmeric
- ⅛teaspoon ground allspice
- 1½cups/about 11 ounces basmati rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 3cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼cup golden raisins
- ¼cup roasted salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
- ¼cup sliced almonds (optional)
- 2tablespoons chopped dill
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
764 calories; 28 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 82 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 47 grams protein; 1229 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a large Dutch oven or heavy lidded pot, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in two batches, cook chicken, turning halfway through, just until no longer pink, about 3 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
- Step 2
Decrease heat to low and add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, oil and the sliced onion to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and allspice and stir until well incorporated and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rice and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Step 3
Add broth, raisins and pistachios, season well with salt and pepper and stir to lift up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Arrange chicken (with any accumulated juices) in an even layer on top and bring to a boil over high.
- Step 4
Cover and decrease heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until all of the liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, if using almonds, toast them in a small skillet over low, stirring, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 6
Discard cinnamon stick. Scatter dill over the chicken and rice, then divide among bowls. Top each with some of the toasted almonds (if using). Serve warm.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Amanda
Almonds, raisins, pistachios on the side. Spices doubled. 2.5 cups broth, basmati rice - perfect no mush. Next time double onion, maybe 1 tablespoon less oil.
Rach
Really enjoyed this, doubled spices (thank you to commenters who suggested this!) and used brown basmati rice. For brown rice, increased liquid by 1/2 cup and did 30 min cooking time with brown rice so put chicken in 10 mins after adding stock.
CMN
Increased spices, more chicken to rice ratio, needs some acid...add some wh wine, finish with lime.
Jean
the proportions in the recipe seem skewed. it could be so much more pungent and exciting; I suggest using twice as much of the turmeric-cardamom-allspice mixture, cinnamon, garlic, pistachios, almonds, and dill... Or reduce the amount of rice.
Keith Nii
I made this dish yesterday and what a delicious meal. I did take advice of others and doubled the spices, double Santana’s and pistachios and used one cinnamon stick and 1/2 teaspoon powdered, table spoon fresh chopped ginger, pinch Hing, i/2 teaspoon ground cumin and served with fresh coriander. Took double the time to make. My grandkids loved it and had extra servings. Definitely make again.
Joseph
I followed the recipe and was disappointed with how bland this turned out. "Salt and pepper to taste" is hardly helpful. There was something promising, however, and I'll try it again. Next time I'll add a table spoon of garam masala at the time the cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric are added to the onion. Also, instead of oil and butter I'd use ghee.
Cameroda
For those who want some extra kick- I sprinkled the chicken with Berbere spice before sauteing it. The blend I have from Penzeys has all the spices in the recipe plus a few more and cayenne. It does not need a lot but we definitely like that addition.
nathan
First thing I’ve cooked from NY Times and what a disappointment. Doubled the spices. Still had no flavor. Added several tbs of lemon juice to brighten it up,which helped but there’s only so much a person can do post facto. I could have done far better not bothering with this recipe.
TomH
Delicious!! I didn't have ground cardamom so I used three green cardamon pods (a gentle bite to slightly open them). I also used saffron rather than the turmeric because, well, I had some on hand (found while searching for the ground cardamom). We left out the raisons as we don't really care for them much, but definitely used the toasted almonds. Next time I will add a bit more stock, however, as we found it a bit too dry. But all in all this is a great dish.
cfureslo
Double or triple the spices. Use garam masala? Use dill, cilantro, lime.
v
i acknowledge i have some year-old spices but dang, shoutout to everyone who said double spices, because mine is still pretty bland - i'm tripling them next time
KP
Took the suggestions to ramp up spice (tripled and added ginger) and to reduce stock to 2.5 cups. Also used 2 pounds of chicken. It was outstanding!
Tina B
I made this as written and it was delicious. I actually made two - one chicken and one tofu, and both were delicious. Family said it was a keeper. I took the leftovers to work for lunch and it was lovely as a cold rice salad as well.
Kramer
Next time I would add some cooked beans since the amount of chicken is low relative to rice. Doubling spice is the way to go.
Carolina
The recipe is absolutely delicious. However, the only quantities I respected were rice, chicken and broth. I doubled all the spices. I used cinnnamon powder. A lot. One bulb of garlic instead of one clove (one clove???), two medium onions, and double the raisins and pistachios. I used cilantro instead of dill. Magnificent.
Rich W
Despite the spices and ingredients, this dish is disappointedly bland. As noted by other people's posts, perhaps doubling the spice amounts, including an acidic flavor, and adding onions would help, but I'm not inclined to try this recipe again.
Jaqui
This was delicious! I subbed ginger for garlic and chives for onion. We added a squeeze of lemon at the end. I cut oil overall by a tblspn
Fran
One of the best recipes from Times Cooking. It was aromatic and delicious! I doubled the spices as suggested by others. Using homemade chicken stock which I always keep in the freezer, really added to the rich and layered flavors. I also waited to add the pistachios after the dish had cooked and just before serving. This is a real winner and I will definitely make it again and again!
B
Used 1 cup rice and 1.5 cups broth, but otherwise followed quantities in recipe (so effectively 1.5x spices). Red onion was totally key. So tasty!
B
P.S. Used 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Why not suggest a quantity of salt in the recipe?
grobben
WAY too bland and too much broth as written. Follow the comments for double (might want to triple) the spices and reduce broth to 2.5 or 2.25 cups
Adam
Sliced dried (but moist) apricots were a great sub for the raisins. Doubled the spices and was really delicious, but think I’d add ginger with the garlic next time and finish with some lime. Will definitely make again.
Carla
I doubled the spices. I like the flavor. rice was a little mushy.
Jim
2.5 cups liquid instead of 3, double spices.
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