2 c Basmati rice
7 oz Clarified butter
1/2 ts Saffron
3 qt Water for rice
3 tb Salt for rice
1 Chicken; skin on,
- cut into pieces
1 lg Onion
4 Eggs
1 ts Lemon juice
Salt and pepper; to taste
Qazmaq:
1 Egg
Pre-cooked rice
Yogurt
2 dr Saffron; up to 3 dr
Potatoes; peeled and
- thinly sliced
Flour tortilla
Preparing The Rice:
Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water several times to remove
excess starch. Soak the rice overnight in salty water for fluffy and
tender pilaf.
Preparing The Saffron Infusion:
Place 1/2 ts of saffron threads into one cup of boiling water and let
sit.
Preparing The Chicken:
Slice the onion into very thin half rings. In a large pot add 1 tb of
the clarified butter and cook the onions until golden brown. Season
the chicken with salt and pepper and place the cut chicken pieces on
top of the onions. Cook together for a few minutes. Add in the lemon
juice and saffron infusion, reserving 3 tb of the infusion for the
rice. Lower the heat, cover the pan and saute until the chicken is
cooked.
Cooking The Rice:
Fill a saucepan with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Place the
rinsed rice into the boiling water. Stir and lower the heat to
medium, let it cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Do not over cook the rice,
you want the rice to be hard on the inside and soft on the outside.
Strain the rice and rinse with hot water to remove any excess salt.
Set aside.
Prepare your Qazmaq (base) depending on the method you chose above.
Preparing The Pilaf:
Melt 2 tb of butter in a frying pan and spread the qazmaq on the
butter. If you chose the method using rice and yogurt, let it cook
for a few minutes before laying in the rice. Place a layer of the
rice about 1/4 of it and pour 2 to 3 tb of melted butter over the
layer. Repeat this until all the rice is layered into the pan. Once
the last layer is places, pour the reserved saffron infusion on top
along with the butter. Make some air holes in the rice using the
handle of a wooden spoon. Wrap the lid of the frying pan in a tea
towel and cover the rice. Cook over a very low heat for 45 to
60 minutes. Cooked rice will soak up the butter and will be fluffy
and soft to taste with a yellow and white color from the saffron
infusion.
Preparing The Chigrtma:
Beat the eggs, remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set aside.
You will want to have about 1/2 cup of the liquid and onion mixture
left in the pan, if there is too much liquid, just boil it down to
make the 1/2 of cup. Mix the eggs with the chicken-onion stock.
Arrange the chicken on the egg mixture add in some sliced lemon and
cook until the eggs have set. Alternatively you can bake the egg and
chicken-onion stock mixture for about 10 minutes in a 350°F oven.
To Plate:
Place the pilaf first reserving the crusty qazmaq for the top. Cut
the egg chiritma into a design and place over the rice. Add the
chicken pieces on top. Place the qazmaq and add some lemon slices for
garnish.
