Thursday, January 31, 2008

Indian-Spiced Chicken with Wild Rice


I made this recipe for Valentine's Day two years ago and I remember that David and I really liked it, but for some reason I never made it again until tonight. Everyone really enjoyed it (Gracie even ate some and she doesn't like many dinner foods besides pizza). It tastes kind of exotic to me with Indian spices in it!

Indian-Spiced Chicken with Wild Rice

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 package (6 ounces) long grain and wild rice mix (I used an Uncle Ben's original recipe mix)
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Combine salt, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric in small bowl. Rub spice mixture on both sides of chicken. Place chicken on plate; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes per side or until browned. Remove chicken; set aside.

Place carrots, chopped bell pepper, celery and garlic in same skillet. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Add rice from mix; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth and seasoning packet from rice mix; bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat; stir in raisins. Pour into prepared dish; place chicken on rice mixture. Sprinkle with almonds.

Cover tightly with foil and bake 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center, juices run clear and rice is tender. Makes 4 servings.

2 comments:

Emily said...

I love the old chicken and rice recipe, but I'm always looking for variations. This looks so good, and I'm excited that I have turmeric in the cupboard!

Emily said...

So glad I tried this last night! The only things I changed were the cooking time (the rice wasn't done in 35 minutes, more like 55) and I put a dash more turmeric and cumin in with the rice mixture since I love them so. Since the whole thing had to cook more, I might not brown the chicken as much to prevent drying out. If you are leery of the raisins, don't be! They're delicious in this.