Persian rice and chicken domes with minty yoghurt

Serves: 4 - 6
Difficulty: hard
Prep time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 2 hours 15 minutes

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Ingredients

1¾ cups Spekko Long Grain Parboiled Rice, rinsed
3 tbsp salt, divided
110 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
1 onion, finely chopped
3 medium chicken breasts, cut into very small pieces
1 cup full cream Greek yogurt, divided
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp boiling water
¼ tsp ground saffron threads
1 egg, beaten

For the herb yogurt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint and parsley
salt and pepper to taste

To garnish
pomegranate kernels
walnuts
pistachio nuts
fresh dill
fresh parsley

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 °C and grease a non-stick muffin tin with 12 wells, with butter.
In a medium bowl, cover the rice with cold water and stir in 1 tablespoon of the salt. Let soak for 1 hour, then drain.
Meanwhile, in a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken and continue to stir until cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
To the chicken, add 2 teaspoons of the salt, 1/2 cup of the yogurt, and the turmeric. Stir to combine, then set aside.
In another bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of boiling water and the saffron. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in 1 teaspoon of the salt, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, the remaining 1/2 cup of the yogurt and the egg.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with the remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Add the soaked rice to the pot of boiling water and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes, then drain.
To the bowl with the saffron mixture, stir in 3 cups of the cooked rice.
Divide the saffron rice between the 12 wells of the muffin tin. Two heaped tablespoons per well and using a spoon, spread up the sides.
Divide the chicken mixture between each well of rice. Top each with the remaining plain rice. (You may have a little left over).
Melt the remaining butter and drizzle over the rice. Cover the tray with foil and bake, rotating halfway through, until golden – about 2 hours.
Let cool slightly, then run a mini offset spatula around the edge of each of the domes. Place a tray over the pan, then invert to release the mini rice domes.
To make the herb yoghurt, mix the yoghurt, red wine, fresh herbs and salt in a bowl.
To serve, garnish the domes with the pomegranate kernels, walnuts, pistachio nuts and the herb yoghurt.