Name: Indian One Pot Chicken and Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Anglo Indian
Ingredients: 2 Chicken Legs; 2 Tbsp Ground Nut Oil; 1 Tbsp Lime Juice; 1 Tbsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder; ½ Tsp Ground Coriander; ½ Tsp Ground Cumin; ¼ Tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ Tsp Salt; 150g (¾) Cup Basmati Rice; 70g (2 Medium) Banana Shallots; 3 Green Chilli Peppers; 4 Garlic Cloves; 35g (Thumb sized piece) Ginger; 12 Cherry Tomatoes; 35g (¼ Cup) Raisins; 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds; 1 Tsp Fennel Seeds; ½ Tsp Ajwain Seeds; ½ Brown Mustard Seeds; 2 Tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves; 375ml (1½ Cup) Chicken Stock; 1 Tbsp Ghee

Jump to Recipe

One pot baked chicken and rice gets an Indian-influenced makeover with spicy marinated legs cooked in spiced rice with chilli & fenugreek.

This is a wonderfully easy dish to cook, throw a simple marinade on the chicken whilst you cut veggies, then saute them and throw it all in the oven for 35 minutes and dinner is served.

Overhead Indian influenced one pot baked chicken legs and rice in a skillet.

Baked Indian Chicken and Rice

I like to think of this recipe as a bit of a lazy take on a cross between chicken biriyani and the Levantine dish, Lamb Kabsa.

That dish is a labour of love, this recipe involves around 10 minutes of tinkering in the kitchen then you throw it in the oven and wait for dinner to be ready.

It was born of some wifely nagging, and after much badgering, I agreed to do some work on a one pot baked chicken and rice recipe.

I only wished I had done it earlier, this recipe has rapidly become a firm favourite for us.

The chicken legs get a very similar marinade to my Indian roast chicken legs.

The rice gets flavoured by some whole toasted spices and whole fresh chillies it is lightened by cherry tomatoes and gets a sweetness from raisins.

Yes, you read that correctly, they are delicious and they make this dish for me!

I like to make it really quite spicy but you can scale that back by changing the amount of chilli pepper in the marinade and scaling back the chillies in the rice.

Close-up Indian influenced one pot baked chicken legs and basmati rice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove the skin from the chicken?

If you wish, the nature of the marinade and the fact that the chicken cooks under a lid for some time prevents the chicken skin from crisping up.

That is not to everyone’s taste, so you should feel free to remove it if you like.

Can I use chicken thighs or drumsticks?

Yes, of course. Chicken thighs will take around the same time to cook as my recipe, thighs will likely take 3 or 4 minutes less.

Can I use boneless chicken?

In theory, yes, but the timing will be very different and the chicken will be a lot less juicy than using bone-in chicken.

Is the marinade time important?

Yes and no, obviously the longer you leave the chicken legs in the marinade the more flavour they will take on.

But I have done this from scratch and cooked it without any real marinating time and it is still delicious!

Can I use onions rather than shallots?

Yes, I choose to use shallots because they are a little sweeter but also because it is much easier to dice them really finely.

Can I use prepared garlic and ginger?

Yes, it works fine in this recipe, I personally find it a bit sharp as a result of the preserving liquid, but if that is not an issue for you, then fill your boots!

Overhead Indian influenced one pot baked chicken legs and basmati rice.

Serving Suggestions

I consider this one pot baked chicken and rice to be an all-in-one meal and generally speaking it does not need a side.

However, that does not mean I only ever serve it on its own!

If you want a sauce with this consider either a mint and cucumber raita or date and tamarind chutney.

It’s also particularly good served with a few chapatis or roti!

I like to garnish with thinly sliced red onions and lots of fresh coriander.

You could also consider this as a leaping-off point for variants!

Other flavour combinations that would work really well are:

North African: Think of rose harissa as a marinade on the chicken and preserved lemon and chilli in the rice.
Thai: Go with a red or yellow Thai curry paste mixed with coconut milk as a marinade on the chicken. Galangal, coriander and lemongrass in the rice.
Italian: A sun-dried tomato paste as a marinade on the chicken and herby rice with some roasted red peppers or maybe artichokes.

These are just a few ideas that have sprung to mind. Let’s see how many of them turn into recipe links in the near future!

Indian influenced one pot baked chicken legs and basmati rice.

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

Stovetop.
Oven.
28cm or 11″ frying pan or skillet with a lid. You can improvise a lid with tin foil if you need to.
Chopping board.
Kitchen knife.
Stirring and serving spoons.
Weighing scales and or measuring jug, cups and spoons.

2 Servings

Indian One Pot Chicken and Rice

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Baked one pot chicken and rice is a supremely simple midweek meal, my version leans on Indian flavours and is rich with fenugreek and spicy with chilli... I like to think of it as a lazy biriyani!

Ingredients

2 Chicken Legs
2 Tbsp Ground Nut Oil
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
½ Tsp Ground Coriander
½ Tsp Ground Cumin
¼ Tsp Ground Turmeric
½ Tsp Salt
150g (¾) Cup Basmati Rice
70g (2 Medium) Banana Shallots
3 Green Chilli Peppers
4 Garlic Cloves
35g (Thumb sized piece) Ginger
12 Cherry Tomatoes
35g (¼ Cup) Raisins
1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Fennel Seeds
½ Tsp Ajwain Seeds
½ Brown Mustard Seeds
2 Tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves
375ml (1½ Cup) Chicken Stock
1 Tbsp Ghee

Instructions

Combine the ground nut oil with the lime juice, Kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and salt, then massage this into the chicken and set it aside to marinade. You can do this for up to 24 hours, the longer the better.
Wash the basmati rice in cold water until the water stops running cloudy.
Cut the shallots in half, peel them and then dice them as finely as you can.
Cut the green chillies in half lengthways.
Peel the garlic cloves and dice them as finely as you can.
Peel and grate the ginger
Gently crush the cherry tomatoes with the side of a knife to break them open a little.
Heat a 28cm or 11" oven-proof frying pan or skillet with a lid over a medium-high heat and add the ghee.
When the ghee has melted add the cumin, fennel, ajwain and brown mustard seeds along with the slit chilli peppers and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the diced shallots and cook for 2 minutes
Throw in the garlic, grated ginger and squished cherry tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.
Add the washed rice and raisins and stir to get everything mixed well together.
Pour in the chicken stock, then knock any excess marinade off the chicken legs and add it to the pan with the rice, then crush the fenugreek leaves between your palms into the pan and then stir everything to combine.
Nestle the chicken legs into the pan, add a lid and transfer to the oven, cooking at 180°C or 350°F for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid, turn the heat up to 200°C or 400°F and flip the oven over to fan mode then cook for a final 10-13 minutes or until the chicken legs reach 73°C or 165°F in a quick read meat thermometer. If your oven does not have fan mode turn it up to 230°C or 450°F.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 908Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 276mgSodium: 1809mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 9gSugar: 27gProtein: 63g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Jane

Friday 29th of December 2023

Hi Brian,

You forgot to say what to do with the salt. Should I use it in the marinade?

Thanks for all the great recipes. Much appreciated

Brian Jones

Sunday 31st of December 2023

Hi Jane...

Yes sorry, the salt goes into the marinade, I recently rewrote this recipe and seemingly messed up, I've fixed that now.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Brian

Rajinder Singh

Monday 15th of April 2019

Hi A perfect pot chicken recipe. I will try it my own for sure. Thanks for this dear.

Tuesday 16th of April 2019

Thank you :)

Gail

Sunday 7th of April 2019

I can't wait to try this recipe. I made your Chicken Kofta Masala last night for dinner. Another fantastic recipe. My husband and I ate the whole thing and were mopping up the last of the sauce with naan. Next time I will double the recipe and will hope to have some left overs. Thank you for this wonderful web page where I can find Indian recipes that make me smile. Best to you and your wife.

Monday 8th of April 2019

Thanks Gail... As you can tell Indian flavours are a real favourite of mine! This is a fun little recipe, I have a traditional Biriyani recipe on here but as with all traditional biriyani it is a labour of love and all the better for being that, this however is stripped back really easy and really tasty.

BTW, I have no self control so only ever cook for two, if I were to cook with leftovers in mind I would be the size of a house :o

Sue R

Wednesday 3rd of April 2019

Brian for the Thai version would I just use the same amount of coconut milk as you have stock in this recipe? We are moving back home soon (our home was flooded badly in February) and I seem to have bought way too many cans of coconut milk I don't want to pack. Oops! :)

Thursday 4th of April 2019

I don't think that would work, I would use the coconut milk to marinade the chicken, although you could mix some through the stock but if you add too much you would end up with a savoury rice pudding which would be an odd texture.

This chicken curry noodles is a fab, quick and tasty way to use up some coconut milk. Slightly longer in the cooking stakes is this coconut chicken curry which I adore! If you want Thai then I can heartily recommend my salmon curry recipe :)

Caroline

Looks like a tasty and easy meal. Lazy biriyani definitely sounds like my kind of meal!

Thanks Caroline!