The rice cooks right in the baking dish, in the juices from the meat, and needs no stirring. Measure the water exactly, because it decides whether the rice comes out fluffy.
Ingredients
For the meat
- 1200 gchicken drumsticks (4 large), skin on
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tspblack pepper
- 1 tbspsweet paprika
- 1 tspsavory
For the rice
- 2 tbspvegetable oil
- 1onion (about 120 g), finely chopped
- 1red pepper (about 150 g), cut into 1 cm cubes
- 2 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsptomato purée
- 300 grice (about 1¾ cups of 200 ml)
- 650 mlhot water
- 1 tspsalt
You will need: a 25×35 cm baking dish, at least 5 cm deep, a frying pan, aluminium foil
Method
Season the drumsticks
Heat the oven to 200°C. Pat 1200 g of drumsticks dry with a paper towel, because wet skin steams and won't crisp. Rub them with 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp paprika and 1 tsp savory.
Chop the vegetables
Finely chop 1 onion and cut 1 red pepper into 1 cm cubes. Chop 2 cloves of garlic.
Fry the vegetables
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and stir for 6 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and 2 tbsp tomato purée and stir for 2 more minutes, until the purée darkens. The garlic goes in last because it burns fast and turns bitter.
Rinse the rice
Put 300 g of rice in a sieve and rinse it under cold water for about a minute, until the water runs almost clear. This washes off the starch, so the grains don't stick together.
Assemble the dish
Put the fried vegetables, the rinsed rice, 650 ml of hot water and 1 tsp salt in the baking dish. Stir and level it out. Lay the 4 drumsticks (1200 g) on top, skin side up, and press them lightly into the rice. The water is hot so the rice starts to soften straight away.
Taste the water before the drumsticks go in: it should be lightly salted, like soup.
Bake under foil
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 200°C for 45 minutes. The foil traps the steam, and without steam the rice stays hard. Lift a corner: most of the water should have soaked in.
Crisp the skin
Take off the foil and bake for 20 more minutes at 200°C, until the skin is golden and crisp. The rice is done when there is no liquid at the bottom and the juice from a pricked drumstick runs clear.
Let it rest
Take the dish out and leave it for 5 minutes on a board or trivet. During this time the rice takes up the rest of the moisture and is easier to spoon out.
How to serve
Serve straight from the dish, one drumstick and a big spoonful of rice per person, with shopska salad or pickled gherkins.
How to store
It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days in a closed container. Reheat in a dish under foil at 180°C for 15 minutes, sprinkling 2 tbsp of water on top.
What you can swap
- Instead of drumsticks, use 1 kg of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. The time is the same.
- If you have no tomato purée, grate 1 ripe tomato (about 200 g) and fry it for 3 minutes in place of the purée.
Questions and answers
Why did the rice stay hard in the dish?
Most often the steam escaped through poorly sealed foil. Add 100 ml of hot water, cover tightly and bake for 10 more minutes.
Why did the rice turn mushy?
The cause is too much water, or stirring in the dish. Measure the water and don't touch the rice once the dish is in the oven.
Can it be prepared the day before?
Assemble the dish without the water, cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 hours. Before baking, add the hot water and add 5 minutes to the time under foil.
Is this dish good for children?
Yes, because it isn't spicy. If your child doesn't eat the skin, remove it from their portion after baking.
Per serving (approx.): 730 kcal · protein 42 g · fat 32 g · carbohydrates 66 g