The idea of driving through traffic on a Friday evening, to satisfy my cravings for Nando’s inspired this dish, as I drove straight home to cook from scratch. Yes! I’ll rather cook from scratch , however long it takes, than to be stuck in traffic.
Staring at my larder, I quietly picked up the ingredients, using my taste buds as a point of reference with each decision I made. The rice always had a bite, a distinctive mustard colour, a tangy and slightly smoky taste . This was going to be a trial and error episode in my test Kitchen and one I was happy to tackle.
I decided to use Risotto rice (as it was the closest to a short grain rice I had available). I knew I had to reduce the starch content of the rice by washing it under lukewarm water, till the water run clear. I then soaked the rice in warm water for about 15-20 minutes, as I started cooking.
During my trial and error effort, I ensured, when needed, to gently stir the mixture (to reduce activating the starch in the rice). In creating this recipe, I loved that I could easily turn this into a beautiful silky Risotto.
I marinated my Chicken in my homemade PiriPiri sauce and grilled for 30 minutes at 200*c. I’ll write up about my Piri Piri sauce later in another post.
I served my Rice with a coleslaw of Tomatoes, Shallots, Cucumber and the white part of a leftover Romaine Lettuce. Enough of me and let’s start cooking..
Ingredients
240g of Risotto rice
200ml of Chicken stock
3 tablespoonful of Olive oil
1 large finely diced Onion
2 cloves of Garlic
1 deseeded and diced red peppers
1 teaspoon of Cumin powder
1 tablespoon of Mustard
1 teaspoon of Turmeric
1 teaspoon of smoky Papkrika
1 juice of 1 Lemon
100g of frozen Peas
1 teaspoon of Sea salt
Lemon wedges to serve
Method
Wash the rice till the water runs clear and set aside
Place a shallow pan on a low heat and add the Olive oil, diced Onions and red Peppers.
Fry the mixture gently for 2 minutes, then add the grated Garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add the Mustard, Turmeric and stir the mixture together.
Add the Cumin powder, mix well and add the Chicken stock.
Add the smoky Paprika, Salt and stir gently till well combined.
Bring the rice to a boil and reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Add the Lemon juice and stir gently till well combined. Cover the rice with a grease proof paper or foil (to trap in the steam) and the lid of the pan.
Cook for 25 minutes and discard the grease proof paper. Add the garden peas and cover with the lid of the saucepan. Turn the heat off, as the residual heat will cook the garden peas to perfection.
Portuguese rice & Piriri Chicken
Portuguese rice
Serve immediately with Lemon wedges, grilled Piri Piri Chicken and Coleslaw.
For a vegetarian version, use Vegetarian stock and serve with grilled Halloumi. A perfect lunch box idea.
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