Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 30 g butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 200 g Basmati rice rinsed and drained
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes (or use fresh/other canned tomato equivalent)
- 400 g cooked turkey meat, shredded.
- 300 ml chicken stock
- Salt and pepper, to taste
To serve
- Fresh coriander chopped
- A handful of of roast almonds - sliced
Method
- In a large sauté pan or heavy pot, warm the vegetable oil and butter together over medium heat until the butter melts and begins to foam.
- Add the diced onion and cook gently for about few minutes, until it softens and starts to brown. Stir in the cinnamon stick. Then add the garlic and ginger, garam masala, turmeric, and chilli flakes. Stir for about 1–2 minutes until aromatic. Add the shredded turkey and rice, stir so that it becomes well coated in the spiced onion mixture.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes, then add the stock. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and cover the pan. Let it simmer gently.
- Cover with a moistened circle of greaseproof paper.
- Cover the pan and cook for 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and leave uncovered for 5 minutes.
- Finish & garnish: when the rice is cooked, remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over chopped coriander and roast almonds.
- Serve hot —with a side of plain yoghurt or a simple green salad pairs nicely with the spices and flavours.
Chef's Tip 1 — Toast the Spices for Deeper Flavour
Before adding the onions, lightly toast the garam masala, turmeric, chilli flakes, and cinnamon stick in the warm oil and butter for 30–60 seconds. This wakes up the oils in the spices, giving your pilaf a deeper, richer aroma and a more rounded flavour.
Chef's Tip 2 — Rest the Pilaf for Perfect Fluffy Rice
Once the pilaf has finished cooking, keep the lid on and let it rest for 10 minutes off the heat before fluffing with a fork. This settling time allows the steam to redistribute, giving you perfectly separate, fluffy grains of rice and preventing the pilaf from turning mushy.
