Chicken na Rus Chawal
Chicken, potatoes and caramelised brown rice.
Chicken rus chawal is a great comfort food. It is simple and quick to prepare and can easily be tweaked and twisted around to suit everyone's palate. A one-pot delight traditionally served with vugharela chawal—caramelised rice. A hearty family meal from the Parsi food repertoire.
The little bit of tang from the tamarind or lemon juice added to it will complete this dish.
Serves 4 to 6 people
optional
2 small fresh crushed tomatoes
I prefer not to add tomatoes to my chicken rus chawal. However, try it out with someone to see the difference and your choice of preference.
Add the tomatoes while adding the water and potatoes.
The chicken must be washed and patted dry before starting to avoid splattering, which may prevent you from burning and cleaning up.
If tamarind paste is unavailable, substitute the juice of fresh lime or lemon at the very end just before you serve it.
For a twist, add a teaspoonful of finely chopped fresh mint, three curry leaf sprigs, and a handful of freshly chopped coriander leaves to the dish. They are wonderful! Even a small amount of desiccated coconut will enhance the flavour.
However, not everyone enjoys pieces of vegetables floating in their rus chawal. If your family prefers smooth gravy, the last option is not recommended.
LEFTOVERs
Making this from leftover gor amli nu kachumber. One large onion sliced with 250 ml\ 8 oz or a cupful of tamarind and date or jaggery chutney.
We often slice an onion and douse it in a chutney prepared with jaggery and tamarind. This is served traditionally with Dhansak and Kharia. But often we are left with a bowlful.
Instead of discarding it, in a flat, deep skillet, on a low flame, uncovered, slowly cook this combination for about 30 minutes. Add 8 pieces of chicken, bone-in. For the spices, add a teaspoon of crushed garlic, some salt, a dash of turmeric and warm spices – cloves and black pepper, a cinnamon stick and a cardamom pod. Add 3 to 6 pieces of thickly sliced fresh ginger. Mix well. Add 2 cups of coconut water. 2 potatoes cut into 8 pieces. Bring all of it to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Test the chicken and potatoes; cook more if needed. The gravy will be a beautiful glaze and fairly thick. Eat it with rice or fresh crusty bread.
My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself via email, in independent book stores across the world and on Amazon India.
The Route to Parsi Cooking: From Pars to India and Beyond is a two-time award winning book. It has been self published in June 2024. Email at theroutetoparsicooking@gmail.com
The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 4-time award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and has gone into its second print in 2022.
The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is a two-time award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.
The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.
Photo courtesy Kainaaz Patell.
Readers Comments
22nd July 2017
Shermeen K
Hi tried your chicken rus chawal recipe, it was delish. I accidentally stumbled upon it and was so happy to find something that I love eating & couldn't ever get the recipe right. Thank you
It is indeed a great recipe. Just lacked mention of when to add red chili powder, tamarind paste and how many tomatoes to add exactly?
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing this out. I have updated the recipe to specify.
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