Chicken with Barberries, Yogurt and Orange Peel

-
This is an Iranian recipe from the cookbook, World on a Plate by Mina Holland.  We used the book for one of our Books for Cooks meetings.  For the most part we didn't particularly like the book.  I made this dish and made a number of adaptations.  We all thought it was very good.  It was supposed to be served with chelow rice which seemed too complicated and I substituted some naan that I bought at Whole Foods.

Holland said the barbarries can be purchased at Middle Eastern grocers, however Madison doesn't have any Middle Eastern grocery stores.  I ordered mine from Amazon.

1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive or sunflower oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
sea salt
2# boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Penzey's pepper
2 large oranges
1-2 large pinches of saffron
1/4 - 1/3 cup of dried barberries, rehydrated
1/4 cup of sliced toasted almond to garnish (optional)  actually I forgot to add the nuts

Strain the yogurt through a strainer lined with a paper towel for several hours so that it is very thick.
Peel the oranges with a potato peeler, taking care not include any of the white pith.  Cut the peel into matchstick strips.  In a small pan of boiling water, simmer the strips for 3 minutes.  Drain the strips and set aside.  Retain the water.  I used some of this water to rehydrate the barbarries for 10 minutes; longer is OK too.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions with a pinch of salt until golden 10-15 minutes.  Set aside.  Next brown the chicken.  Combine the onions and chicken; use some of the orange flavored water, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is tender.  It will take about 20 minutes.
Crumble the saffron and soak it in 1/4 cup of the orange water or plain water for 10 minutes.
Next add the saffron water, orange peel, and barberries to the chicken and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.  Test for seasoning.  Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.  Keep the sauce on a low heat and add the thickened yogurt.  Whisk into the sauce.  Return the chicken to the pan; warm through.  Place on a platter; pour the sauce over the chicken; garnish with the almonds.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fresh Amaranth (Red Spinach)

-
Image
Amaranth Leaves are very similar to spinach in flavor and use. They're beautiful to look at. Its tempting to just keep the bunch as a decorative bouquet. This time I decided to use mine in Chinese Spinach Curry. This is not a perfected recipe, but I would make it again so I thought it was worth posting. Thotakura Palakura Tomato Kura 1 tablespoon peanut oil or other mild oil ¼ teaspoon each--cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves (I think the quantity of these spices should be doubled) 1 big onion - finely sliced, about one cup 2 tomatoes - finely chopped, about one cup 5 green chillies--finely chopped (I used 1 Serrano, which I seeded--5 seemed excessive for our tastes but it needed either more than 1 pepper or to leave in some of the seeds. In other words it lacked heat) 1 teaspoon - ginger garlic paste ½ tsp each- turmeric and salt 1 bunch fresh amaranth (leaves and tender stems) - finely chopped, about 5 cups 1 bunch fresh spinach - finely chopped, about 5 cups 1 can of chick...
Read more

Roasted Beets & Carrots with Couscous and Citrus Dressing

-
This dish can be served warm or cold, leftover the next day.  Delicious both ways.  It is a bit labor-intensive but very tasty and a good way to use some of those winter vegetables. 1# beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks 1/2# carrots, cut into thick coins 1/2# onions red or yellow onions or shallot, cut into chunks (a little less is fine) 1/2 cup Citrus Vinaigrette 1 cup Israeli couscous 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped 1 large sprig of thyme, if fresh is not available sprinkle in some dry 1/4-1/2 tsp. dried chile flakes 1/2 cup salted roasted sunflower seeds (raw seeds are also OK) 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese Heat oven to 450℉. Toss the beets with a small amount of olive or sunflower oil, season with salt and pepper and spread on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Toss the carrots and onions with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add to the baking sheet.  Roast all the vegetable...
Read more

Celery Root, Cracked Wheat, and Every-Fall-Vegetable-You-Can-Find-Chowder

-
This soup turned out to be tastier than I expected which is why I'm including it in my blog so that I don't forget about making it again. I think it is due to the celery root puree. This makes it necessary to add another step to preparing the soup but it is definitely worthwhile.  You could substitute another grain for the cracked wheat, such as farro.  However, I happened to have cracked wheat available and it cooks quickly. 1 celeriac (celery root 3/4 - 1#) 1/2# onions, sliced (yellow or red) 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced or chopped 3 tablespoons unsalted butter Kosher (or sea salt) and cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil 1 cup cracked wheat Several sprigs fresh thyme if available, otherwise use dried thyme 1 stalk celery, diced -- note, I used my vegetable chopper to chop all the root vegetables so they were about a 1/2 inch dice 1 carrot, diced 1 turnip, diced (I didn't have a turnip so I used a daikon radish) 1 medium potato, unp...
Read more