Qualifier: The purpose of this "Nonnom Persian" blog is to help those like me who are skilled at many many things-except cooking in the kitchen. Part of it has been from laziness, part of it has been due to having an easy convenience of take-out food, part of it is because I live with a roommate (Cooking for 1 or for 2 tonight?) & part of it is due to my apprehension of messing up any dish if I accidentally burn it to a scorch, etc. Get the idea? Thus this blog is going to be very detailed to help novices like me in the kitchen & to prove that it's never too late to learn a new skill. It's also tailored for singles or for two to avoid waste with too many leftovers.
Chicken Tagine and Tah-Dig Rice
Living in Hawaii is beautiful, but like mostly everywhere - has its' good and bad points. Must I echoe its' good points? I am sure you would agree with me that the palm trees , ocean, sky, and beaches are just some of the empirical reasons why tourists flock to these islands daily. However, one of the bad points is convenience for things are not always easy. Case in point? Persian restaurants. (You know, where THE Persian Empire used to be that is now modern day Iran..Confused? Persian/Iranian will be used interchangeably). Oh, sure, there are delicious Greek & Indian restaurants, but not one authentic Persian restaurant, that is opened for dinner (frown). There is also this saffron spice - a main ingredient for the Persian food flair-& I can't seem to find it...yet.
Thus, I looked in my fridge & decided to take matters into my own hands with what I could find in the kitchen. I enjoyed cooking this recipe so much, that I decided to try a new Persian dish every week & blog here about the process, including the results.
Keep in mind that I am not a master chef, but would like to enjoy a home cooked meal of my making, once a week to start. It may seem like nothing, but with my schedule, it's daunting that I could commit to once a week at all with my full plate. Thus, below is the modulated recipe for (drum roll, please)...
Chicken Tagine and Tah-dig Rice:
Ingredients & Directions:
Tah-dig:
Add layer of vegetable cooking oil to bottom of rice cooker
Add 3 cups of washed rice (any rice, except brown)
Add 4 cups of water (This will vary depending on your rice cooker)
Add saffron spice or tumeric spice if saffron is not available
Add garlic & onion powder
Add layer of olive oil to top of rice
Turn on rice cooker and let it cook!
Now you're ready to prepare the Chicken Tagine:
Ingredients:
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1/2 onion, sliced & diced into tiny, tiny pieces
1 clove of garlic chopped (or just use garlic powder)
1 skinless potato, sliced & diced into tiny, tiny pieces
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable cooking oil
3 dashes of sugar
Directions:
Sautee (This means in a medium sized saucepan with sides, add the vegetable cooking oil, then turn it on medium high) and throw in the onion and garlic
Turn the stove top up to high heat
Add the chicken.
Brown each side for 4 minutes (making it 8 minutes total)
Turn stove top down to low heat
Add water
Add potato
Sprinkle with slat and pepper
Sprinkle with 3 dashes of sugar
Cover saucepan with saucepan & cover for 35-40 minutes.
*Turn chicken over at the 20 minute mark just once*
After 40 minutes, add tomatoes
**Your Tah-dig is now done. Turn off rice cooker and let it sit, covered, in room temperature.**
Turn the heat up on the stove top to a low-medium setting
Cover for 10-15 more minutes
After 10-15 minutes is up, making it 45-55 minutes total since stove top was turned on-check the chicken with a fork utensil to make sure it's cooked all the way through. Chicken should be a white/cream color-not pink!
Voila! Ready to eat and enjoy.
*I cooked this at 10 o'clock in the morning before I was off to appointments all day & didn't return home until 7pm that night to enjoy it. The leftovers the next day & the next were just as tasty!*
Try it for yourself & let me know what you think in the
"Ask Lani" section of this website.
Stay tuned for next week's Persian Dish in Hawaii Project, Modulated by Lani (smile).
~Nomnom your way to Persian flairs in the kitchen this week~
Thus, I looked in my fridge & decided to take matters into my own hands with what I could find in the kitchen. I enjoyed cooking this recipe so much, that I decided to try a new Persian dish every week & blog here about the process, including the results.
Keep in mind that I am not a master chef, but would like to enjoy a home cooked meal of my making, once a week to start. It may seem like nothing, but with my schedule, it's daunting that I could commit to once a week at all with my full plate. Thus, below is the modulated recipe for (drum roll, please)...
Chicken Tagine and Tah-dig Rice:
Ingredients & Directions:
Tah-dig:
Add layer of vegetable cooking oil to bottom of rice cooker
Add 3 cups of washed rice (any rice, except brown)
Add 4 cups of water (This will vary depending on your rice cooker)
Add saffron spice or tumeric spice if saffron is not available
Add garlic & onion powder
Add layer of olive oil to top of rice
Turn on rice cooker and let it cook!
Now you're ready to prepare the Chicken Tagine:
Ingredients:
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1/2 onion, sliced & diced into tiny, tiny pieces
1 clove of garlic chopped (or just use garlic powder)
1 skinless potato, sliced & diced into tiny, tiny pieces
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable cooking oil
3 dashes of sugar
Directions:
Sautee (This means in a medium sized saucepan with sides, add the vegetable cooking oil, then turn it on medium high) and throw in the onion and garlic
Turn the stove top up to high heat
Add the chicken.
Brown each side for 4 minutes (making it 8 minutes total)
Turn stove top down to low heat
Add water
Add potato
Sprinkle with slat and pepper
Sprinkle with 3 dashes of sugar
Cover saucepan with saucepan & cover for 35-40 minutes.
*Turn chicken over at the 20 minute mark just once*
After 40 minutes, add tomatoes
**Your Tah-dig is now done. Turn off rice cooker and let it sit, covered, in room temperature.**
Turn the heat up on the stove top to a low-medium setting
Cover for 10-15 more minutes
After 10-15 minutes is up, making it 45-55 minutes total since stove top was turned on-check the chicken with a fork utensil to make sure it's cooked all the way through. Chicken should be a white/cream color-not pink!
Voila! Ready to eat and enjoy.
*I cooked this at 10 o'clock in the morning before I was off to appointments all day & didn't return home until 7pm that night to enjoy it. The leftovers the next day & the next were just as tasty!*
Try it for yourself & let me know what you think in the
"Ask Lani" section of this website.
Stay tuned for next week's Persian Dish in Hawaii Project, Modulated by Lani (smile).
~Nomnom your way to Persian flairs in the kitchen this week~
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