Chicken Paella Recipe

Chicken Paella

Today i was asked by my daughter to share a recipe for her mentor and was told that her most favorite dish is Spanish/Italian and when she told me the name of the dish, I decided to give her bit of knowledge of the recipe as well. It is a mouthwatering dish which was given to us by the Moors but this time it was not the kings or rich and powerful who gave us this recipe it was the servants who gave us this beautiful and yummy recipe. It was started as a poor man and servants dish in the times when Moors ruled over Andulas (parts of Spain). The dish means leftovers and it started as the combination of Royal family's leftover dishes, after the meal of Royal family the servants used to mix all the dishes and enjoy themselves not knowing that the dish they are creating will be one of the most popular and loved dish of 21st century around the world and will be the dish for the rich but not for people who invented it (the poor).

Paella was the name given to the dish which derives from Arabic word baqiyah meaning leftovers. In the times when Moors ruled the farmers along Mediterranean coast took the production of rice to next level and the rice were included in every feast with vegetables, fish, meat and that is when our dish Paella was invented.

There is also debate about the word Paella being a Valencian word derives from old french paelle meaning Pan and Latin word Patella meaning pan as well, then again to take the debate more further i would like to say that paella derives from Punjabi word Pateela meaning pan. I think we should let the historians fight over the word and lets enjoy our dish.

The dish was actually changed from poor to rich in 19th century when living standards of Spain rose, the ingredients were changed and the dish was given the status of Spanish national dish, even today it is considered as Spanish national dish. If you like it please do use comment box below and do not forget to subscribe our site to get updates on daily bases.

Ingredients:

1: Chicken breasts 2 

2: Onions 2 (finely chopped)

3: Green chilies 3 (finely chopped)

4: Red bell pepper 1 (sliced or cut)

5: Green peas 1 cup

6: Coriander leaves 1 cup (finely chopped)

7: Ginger & Garlic paste 1tbsp

8: Red chili powder 1tbsp

9: Salt as per taste

10: Lemon juice 1tsp

11: Cooking Oil 2tbsp

12: Saffron threads 1tsp

13: Chicken stock 8 cups

14: Tomatoes 4 (diced)

15: Tomato puree 1tbsp

16: Sweet paprika 1tsp

17: Short-grain rice 3cups

Method:

Combine water, saffron, and chicken stock in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet on medium-high flame, add chicken cook for 3 minutes, remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

Add onions in the skillet and cook till transparent on medium flame, add ginger & garlic paste, tomato puree and cook for 30 second, add bell peppers and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, red chili powder, green chilies, salt and lemon juice, paprika and cook for 5 minutes.

Add rice, cook 1 for minute, stirring constantly, add chicken stock mixture, chicken and peas, Bring to a low boil, cook for 10 minutes stirring every minute or so.

Sprinkle coriander and remove from the stove cover with a towel for 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy.

Please do not forget to subscribe. Please leave your Comments if you like my hard work. Check my other recipes on the site: www.izzyrecipe.com

Maqluba chicken recipe

Maqluba Chicken

There is one topic of history which deserves more respect then we actually give, infect we seem to forget about it when we go through history pages, believe me it is one of two things we need to live and survive, ok you know one is water but how can we forget food. When i go through history books for some reason i can only see Chinese and Arabs who have done work on food recipes. Lets face it! The history of Arabian Peninsula goes as back as you can imagine and the Arabs have not only given us the great history but also the food recipes as well. Since the day when Islamic calendar started the World changed and Muslims conquered 2.2 million square miles withing first century and the era of new history began, different cultures, different ethnicities came together so did their food. Arabs mixed them and made some of the best food recipes the history has written. There are many products that the Arabs introduced to the world and one of that is Maqluba.

Maqluba means upside down and there are good amount of dishes in written history of cooking recipes. There are quite few recipe books like Kitab al Tibakhah written in fifteenth century and Kitab al-Tabikh wa-islah al-Aghdiyah al-Ma'kulat written in 10th century by Arabs. The recipe i am going to share today is one of the best recipes introduced to west by Arabs maqluba chicken and it was brought to Europe by Moors on their conquest of al-andalus (part of Spain) in 15th century. It is one of the upside down recipes, for this you will need rice, chicken, mix vegetables and spices, you can also use dry fruit for garnishing, as almost all of the Arabic dishes are garnished with dry fruit which shows the culture of healthy eating all over Arabian Peninsula.

It is Arabian Spanish but as promised we are going to give an Indian / Pakistani touch to it, by saying that doesn't mean we will change the recipe completely. We will try our best to keep it close to original recipe and will only give a tiny bit flavor of Indian subcontinent because most of our dishes were actually introduced by Arabs so not much different you can do with them. Today's recipe will surely bring the memories of ancient Arabs to your kitchen through maqluba chicken. If you like it please do use comment box below and do not forget to subscribe our site to get updates on daily bases.

Ingredients:

1: Chicken 1 (medium cut in pieces)

2: Onion 1 (chopped)

3: Olive oil 3tbsp

4: Paprika 1tbsp

5: Turmeric powder 1tsp

6: Salt as per taste

7: Baharat Spice Blend 1tsp

8: Eggplant 1 (sliced and salted)

9: Cauliflower 1 cup (cut in bite size)

10: Rice 1 1/2 cups

11: Vegetable broth 2 cups

12: Coriander handful (chopped)

13 Lemon juice 1tbsp

14: Ginger & Garlic paste 1tbsp

15 Pine nuts 2tbsp (toasted)

Method:

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet on medium flame, add onions and cook till transparent but not brown keep stirring frequently, add chicken pieces and half of paprika, turmeric powder, salt, baharat spice blend, lemon juice and ginger & garlic paste and mix well, cook till chicken is brown on all the sides on medium flame.

In a pan add few tablespoons of rice on the bottom of the pan transfer everything from the skillet to the pot, on top of the thin layer of rice.

Fry sliced eggplant in the skillet till brown, transfer eggplant to the chicken pan, fry cauliflower in the skillet and put them on top of the chicken and eggplant in the pan.

Cover mixture with rest of the rice and remaining spices and seasonings, cover the pan with a lid and cook on low flame for about 40 minutes.

Take it off the stove and allow dish to cool for about 10 minutes before lifting the lid.

Remove the lid and place a large serving plate squarely on top of the pot and turn the chicken and rice upside down onto the serving plate. 

Garnish chicken and rice with toasted pine nuts and chopped coriander.

Please do not forget to subscribe. Please leave your Comments if you like my hard work. Check my other recipes on the site: www.izzyrecipe.com