Friday, April 01, 2011

Cardamom Chicken with Coconut Rice

cardamomchicken-coconutrice

This is an oh-so-delicious dinner, based on a recipe by Lotta Lundgren in an awesome new Swedish cookbook called "Om jag var din hemmafru" ("If I was your housewife"). I'll tell you about the book in a little while, I need to review it properly as it's really one of the best cookbooks to come out in a long time.

I'll make this again, but I'll change a few things. I think I'll use cream instead of milk to soak the coconut, and add it to the chicken mince. And I don't think the breadcrumbs are necessary in that case, since cream seems to bind the mince fairly well. And I might skip toasting the cardamom, to me, it didn't make a big difference.

Serve it with something fruity. Lotta suggests mango chutney, and I happened to have a bottle of Mango-Ginger Habanero Sauce that was awesome. Stir-fried veggies would be good as well, and a pinch of cilantro is always a good idea.

Cardamom Chicken with Coconut Rice
Serves 4

450 g chicken thighs (or breast)
1 egg
50 ml breadcrumbs
50 ml coconut flakes (unsweetened)
3 tbsp milk
salt
1 tsp whole cardamom seeds
butter, for frying

300 ml basmati rice
1 can - 400 ml - coconut milk
200 ml water
a pinch of salt

Start by soaking the coconut in the milk for about half an hour.

Toast the cardamom in a dry skillet for a minute or so, and then grind to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar. Cut the chicken into large dice, and mince in a food processor - it'll be super fast, so don't overmix.

Drain the coconut flakes, and mix with the chicken mince, cardamom, egg, breadcrumbs and salt. Shape flattened patties, and fry in a little butter for about 5 minutes on each side.

For the rice, mix the rice, coconut milk, water and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let the rice simmer, covered, until the rice is soft and the liquid is absorbed. (20-25 minutes.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Kardemummakyckling med kokosris

4 comments:

Three-Cookies said...

Sounds absolutely delicious, interesting to mix coconut flakes with the mince

Kicki Theander said...

Kul att höra om fler Lotta Lundgren-recept! Det mesta jag har lagat har varit intressant. Jag skulle inte laga om henne bolognese med fisksås, rotfrukter och honung, den var alldeles för söt och jag saknade örtkryddor men det är kul och uppfriskande och pröva något nytt. Det måste vara lite svårt att förmedla Lottas roliga texter till engelsktalande. De är grymma. Jag har skrattat högt åt många av dem.

Ruth said...

Oh how I love cardamom! Have to try this over the weekend! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Coconut is so great to use in recipes, and mixing in the mince with cream should make a great dish.

I love Swedish food and cooking!

Penny