Chicken & Carrot Plov

📝 Ingredients

• 4 chicken legs (about 250 g each)
• 300 g long-grain rice
• 5 carrots (about 500 g)
• 2 brown onions (about 150 g each)
• 1 whole head of garlic (about 50 g)
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds + 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 chicken stock cube + 600 ml hot water
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Cast-iron casserole dish with lid
• Fine sieve
• Mixing bowl
• Chopping board
• Chef's knife
• Slotted spoon

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the rice in a fine sieve under cold water, rubbing it between your fingers, until the water runs almost clear (4 or 5 rinses). Leave it to soak for 20 min in a bowl of warm salted water while you carry on: it will cook without sticking.
2. Remove the skin from the chicken legs and cut them in two at the joint (drumstick and thigh). Peel the carrots and cut them into matchstick-thick batons, 5 cm long. Thinly slice the onions into half-moons.
3. Heat the oil in the casserole over high heat. Salt the chicken pieces and brown them for 4 to 5 min per side, without moving them, until well coloured. Work in two batches if the casserole is small, then set aside on a plate.
4. Lower to medium heat and fry the onions for 6 to 8 min in the same casserole, scraping up the browned bits, until golden. Add the carrots and cook for 5 more min, stirring: they should soften without falling apart.
5. Return the chicken, add the cumin, crushing it between your palms, the paprika, ½ tsp salt and some pepper. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water, pour into the casserole, cover and simmer for 15 min over low heat: this is the fragrant base of the plov.
6. Drain the rice and spread it in an even layer over the meat and carrots, without stirring. Push the whole head of garlic (with its outer papery skin removed) into the centre. The liquid should come about 1 cm above the rice: add a little hot water if needed.
7. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 min, until no liquid is visible on the surface. Then gather the rice into a dome and poke 5 or 6 holes right to the bottom with the handle of the skimmer to let the steam escape.
8. Cover tightly, turn the heat down to very low and cook for 20 min without ever lifting the lid or stirring. Turn off the heat and leave to rest, covered, for another 10 min: the rice finishes swelling and comes apart into nicely separate grains.
9. Carefully remove the head of garlic and set aside. Gently mix the rice and carrots with the skimmer, pile onto a large platter, place the chicken on top and the garlic in the middle: everyone squeezes a few soft cloves over their rice.