In the words of Irving Berlin, we’re having a heatwave… A tropical heatwave… And it’s too hot to cook in our Seattle kitchen. We made this recipe before the hot weather hit, so we broiled the thighs. If you’re having a heatwave, you can use this rub on the grill just as easily…
This recipe is from the July Cooking Light.
Make the Rice In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 T butter and saute a chopped garlic clove. Ad 1 cup uncooked white or brown basmati rice and stir for 30 seconds. Then add 1 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt and bring to the pan to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down, and simmer until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed – about 12 minutes. Then let it stand 5 minutes, stir in a handful of chopped parsley and some fresh-ground black pepper.
Make the Spice Mix Preheat the broiler to high. While the oven’s heating, in a medium bowl, stir together 2 T brown sugar, 2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp ground red pepper, along with a pinch of salt.
Broil the Chicken Sprinkle half of this spice mixture over 8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs. Put the chicken on a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil for 6 minutes. Then flip the chicken over with tongs and sprinkle the rest of the spices on top. Broil for another 6 minutes, or until the chicken’s done.
Take the chicken out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes. Spoon the pan drippings over the chicken, and serve with the garlicky rice. A spicy salad or blasted broccoli goes great with this dish. And a Cool As A Cucumber & Tarragon Gin & Tonic is a lovely accompaniment too.
Ingredients
- 1 T butter
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 cup uncooked basmati rice (white or brown)
- 1 1/2 cup water
- pinch of salt
- handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 T brown sugar
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
Related articles
- Malabar Chicken Biryani (themalabarkitchen.wordpress.com)
- Easy Lemony Chicken & Orzo Soup (seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com)
Seattle Foodshed 
Arghh this heat! I just keep telling myself that without it we wouldn’t have such lovely berries and tree fruit. On a cooking note, I think cucumber/mint raita would be a lovely addition.
I have found chicken thighs to be a great alternative to boneless chicken breasts in a lot of ways. Cheaper, juicier, cook faster and properly portioned (i.e. one or two are sufficient for a meal). I’ve experimented myself with spicy marinades (using lime and Thai chilies or orange and ginger).
Those marinades sound fabulous.
Thanks I’m gaining confidence making things up. I’m currently fasciated with curd…lemon, lime, maybe blueberry ginger, or raspberry basil? And now I’ve gotten off the track of chicken thighs.
Curd is lovely! And perfect for summer. A Raspberry basil curd sounds interesting. We did a lemon curd last summer that was sublime. https://seattlefoodshed.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/a-very-ladylike-lemon-curd/