Turkish Rice Pilaf With Chicken and Chick Peas

Place the ½ chicken in a pot and fill it with enough water to cover the chicken by one inch. Peel the carrot and the onion and place them in the pot. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot. Let the chicken simmer gently until the meat is falling off the bones, about 30 minutes. Set it aside to cool.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the onion and carrot. Remove the chicken from the broth and separate all the meat from the bones, Discard the bones, skin, and gristle. Strain the broth through a fine wire strainer and set it aside.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and set them aside. In a large, shallow pan, melt the butter together with the oil. Add the rice and work the oils through all the grains with a wooden spoon. On low heat, continue to ‘fry’ the dry rice for a few minutes.

Add the chickpeas, chicken broth, water, salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Let the rice simmer very gently on low heat until all the liquid is absorbed.

Turn off the heat. Open the top of the pan and arrange the chicken pieces over the top of the cooked rice. Do this quickly as you don’t want to lose too much steam. Replace the cover and let the rice continue to steam for about 10 minutes more.

When you are ready to serve it, remove the lid. Using a large bowl as a mold, arrange the chicken pieces in the bottom and up the sides of the bowl. Using the wooden spoon, fill the bowl with the hot rice and gently pack it down to make it firm. When the bowl is full, turn it upside down on your serving plate. You can garnish the top with a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs if you wish.

Serve the rice piping hot with a glass of ice cold Turkish yogurt drink, called ‘ayran’ (ai-RAHN’).