Braised Pomegranate Chicken over Black Rice
As I sat by my window on a Saturday afternoon, watching the snow blanket the world around me, I began to day dream. I transported myself to another place, another time... I wanted to be in an exotic place and time, deep and heady with incense.... the temperature changed to a warmth almost to the point of being hot but a cool breeze that traveled over an ancient river arrived to delicately caress the heat away. Colorful silk fabrics enrobed me gliding across my skin as I moved. A musician somewhere in the distance was playing an unidentifiable instrument as the sound permeated the room...I looked around as candlelight bathed my surroundings in a gentle glow. I noticed sitting low to the ground a table surrounded with large pillows. It was a perfect spot to recline and escape from a long day. I made my way closer and saw a feast laid out before me... The aromatic ingredients, the exotic spices, the colorful dish ...it was truly something worthy of a good daydream.
There, before me, on a silver tray, was a dish laid upon a bed of black rice. It was a rice that commoners at one time were forbidden to eat. It was served only to the emperors in ancient China and death came to anyone else in possession of it, let alone, caught eating it. In modern times, it is found to have an amazing array of vitamins and antioxidants. Perhaps ancients knew what they were doing, after all. Over the rice was a creamy braised chicken dish dotted with ruby pomegranate arils...scents of ginger, coconut and cumin filled the air...my mouth watered.
It seems that pomegranates, too, may have been a forbidden fruit. It is rumored by some that it was none other than the fruit spoken of in Genesis in The Garden of Good and Evil. It was so tempting to have such a beautiful plate of food in front of me, some of it once forbidden and the rest of the ingredients just as ancient and with histories just as colorful. For instance, in Morocco, a small plate of cumin (a spice that dates back to before biblical times) sits beside the salt and pepper in a small dish just as it did thousands of years ago in ancient Greece.
I sat down on the nearest pillow and ate ravenously. The creamy and tangy sauce flavored the chicken and the rice impeccably. The black rice had a rich, nutty flavor while bursts of juice from the little rubies (pomegranate arils) added the perfect amount of tangy-ness....
I could go on about this dish but this is my daydream and so I bid you a good day and send you on your way. Oh...should you ever be in need of an exotic daydream type dish...feel free to use my recipe. It has of way of transporting oneself to another place and time.
Braised Pomegranate Chicken
6-8 Chicken Thighs
Salt and Pepper
Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp. Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp. Coriander Seeds
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Fresh Ginger, minced
2 Bay Leaves
Pomegranate Juice
1 can Coconut Milk
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
For the rice:
2 cups Uncooked Black Rice
3 1/2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
a Dash of Salt
Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
Meanwhile, toast cumin and coriander seeds in your braiser or dutch oven.
Brown the chicken thighs over medium heat.
Drain off any excess grease and add the garlic, ginger and bay leaves.
Add enough pomegranate juice to cover the chicken thighs halfway.
Let simmer for about 30 minutes until the juice cooks down and thickens.
Meanwhile.....
In a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups of black rice, 3 1/2 cups chicken broth and a dash of salt to a boil.
Turn down the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
after the 30 minutes have passed, let the rice sit undisturbed, off the heat for a few minutes. Add 1 can of coconut milk to the chicken.
Served over a bed of the black rice. Top with pomegranate arils.
Light some candles, throw some pillows on the floor and feast like a Jewel of the Nile
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