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Jewelled saffron chicken pilau with Halal chicken

Sabrina Ghayour's morassa polow ba morgh: saffron-poached Halal chicken layered with par-boiled basmati over a yogurt crust, steamed into tahdig and folded with buttery barberries, pistachios and almonds.

Persian · Main · Moderate · 6 portions · 140 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

The pilau is made with 600 g of chicken thighs, which are Halal only from Halal-slaughtered birds.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Chicken thighs: Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides, and chicken without a Halal mark doesn't say how the bird was slaughtered. Buy the chicken from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
• Greek-style yogurt: Plain yogurt is milk fermented with cultures, but gelatin turns up in set, low-fat and dessert yogurts. Choose a yogurt with no gelatin on the label. See Yogurt.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 g saffron
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 600 g Halal boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3–4 pieces
• 6 large garlic cloves, bashed

Rice

• 500 g basmati rice
• 3–4 tbsp Greek-style yogurt (no gelatine)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Jewels

• 75 g butter
• 75 g barberries
• 100 g pistachios, roughly chopped
• 75 g flaked almonds
• 3 tbsp caster sugar

Method

1. Infuse the saffron. Grind the saffron to a powder with a pestle and mortar, pour over 4 tbsp boiling water, stir and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
2. Poach the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and cook the onions for 12 to 15 minutes until soft and lightly golden at the edges. Add the chicken and garlic, season well and stir for about 5 minutes, watching the heat so it doesn't brown. Pour in just over half the saffron and enough boiling water to cover the chicken, about 500 ml, and simmer gently, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes until tender.
3. Par-boil the rice. Meanwhile, cook the rice in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 6 minutes, until the grains are long and white but not cooked through. Drain in a fine sieve and rinse well under cold running water, sifting with your hands so every grain is rinsed. Drain well and leave for 10 minutes, shaking off any excess water.
4. Layer the pan. Lift the chicken and onions onto a plate with a slotted spoon and keep the cooking liquid. Pour enough water into a lidded non-stick pan (not cast iron) to cover the base by about ½ cm. Mix the yogurt with the rest of the saffron, the vegetable oil and some salt, and stir it into the water. Scatter in half the rice without pressing it down, lay the chicken and onions on top, season lightly and cover with the rest of the rice.
5. Steam. Wrap a cloth around the lid and cover the pan tightly. Cook over the lowest gas heat for about 1 hour, or over a medium-high induction heat for 45 minutes.
6. Make the jewels and serve. Melt the butter, turn off the heat and fold in the barberries, pistachios, almonds and sugar. Fold the mixture gently through the rice and spoon most of it onto a platter. Lift out the tahdig (the crisp crust), cut it into triangles and lay them on top. Reheat the chicken broth and serve it on the side if you like.

Allergens

milk (yogurt, butter), nuts (pistachios, almonds)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Morassa polow ba morgh (Bejewelled saffron chicken pilau)' by Sabrina Ghayour, which describes it as a hybrid of two Persian dishes often served at weddings and celebrations (serves 6: 1 g saffron ground and infused 5 minutes in 4 tbsp boiling water; 3 large thinly sliced onions cooked 12 to 15 minutes in 2 tbsp olive oil; 600 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs in 3 or 4 pieces and 6 bashed garlic cloves stirred in about 5 minutes without browning; just over half the saffron and about 500 ml boiling water added and simmered uncovered 35 to 40 minutes; 500 g basmati boiled about 6 minutes in salted water, drained, rinsed under cold water and rested 10 minutes; the chicken and onions lifted out and the liquid kept; a non-stick pan given about ½ cm water, 3 to 4 tbsp Greek-style yogurt mixed with the rest of the saffron, 3 tbsp vegetable oil and salt; half the rice scattered in, the chicken and onions laid on, the rest of the rice on top; the lid wrapped in a cloth and the pan cooked on the lowest gas about 1 hour, or 45 minutes over a medium-high induction heat; 75 g butter melted and, off the heat, 75 g barberries, 100 g chopped pistachios, 75 g flaked almonds and 3 tbsp caster sugar folded in; the mixture folded through the rice, the tahdig cut into triangles on top, the reheated broth served on the side if liked). We specified Halal chicken thighs and flagged the yogurt's label; nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: a spiced rice dish, not the finished dish from this recipe.