Portuguese Chicken Rice

Ingredients

• 600g boneless chicken thighs, skin removed
• 300g floury potatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 400ml coconut milk
• 200ml chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp custard powder
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 700g cooked jasmine rice
• 80g grated mild cheddar or mozzarella

Before you cook

• Cut the chicken thighs into large bite-sized pieces.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3cm chunks.
• Slice the onion and mince the garlic.
• Stir the custard powder into 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 200C.
2. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat.
3. Brown the chicken pieces for 3 minutes on each side, then lift them onto a plate.
4. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 4 minutes, until soft and golden at the edges.
5. Stir in the curry powder and turmeric and fry for 1 minute, until the oil turns yellow and smells fragrant.
6. Pour in the stock and coconut milk and drop in the bay leaves.
7. Add the potato chunks and simmer for 12 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
8. Return the chicken with any juices and simmer for 8 minutes, until cooked through.
9. Pour in the custard powder slurry and stir until the sauce thickens to a pourable custard.
10. Season with the sugar and salt and pull out the bay leaves.
11. Spread the cooked rice in a baking dish.
12. Spoon the chicken, potatoes and all the sauce over the rice.
13. Scatter the cheese evenly across the top.
14. Bake for 12 minutes, until the surface bubbles and browns in patches.
15. Rest for 2 minutes before serving.