Persian-Style Chicken with Jeweled Rice
Enjoy a multi-dish culinary tour of a new destination!
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
- Sesame
- Wheat
For this Persian-inspired dish, you'll marinate chicken in yogurt and warm spices, then sear it to juicy perfection. On the side, you'll serve basmati rice studded with tangy dried cherries and earthy pistachios, a fresh cucumber-tomato salad, and savory roasted veggies. Don't forget the hummus and tzatziki, which pair perfectly with warm pita!
Ingredients
4 tablespoon
Yogurt
(Contains: Milk)
2 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
1 unit
Red Onion
8 ounce
Grape Tomatoes
2 unit
Mini Cucumber
¼ ounce
Dill
1 unit
Lemon
1 unit
Chickpeas
½ ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
1 ounce
Dried Cherries
½ cup
Basmati Rice
2 unit
Pitas
(Contains: Sesame, Wheat)
1 unit
Tzatziki
(Contains: Milk, Tree Nuts)
1 unit
Classic Hummus
(Contains: Sesame)
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, garlic powder, 1 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend, 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and pepper (use 2 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend, 2 TBSP olive oil, and 2 tsp salt for 4 servings). • Add chicken* and turn to coat. Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
• While chicken marinates, wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and cut onion into 1⁄2-inch- thick wedges; mince a few wedges unti you have 2 TBSP (4 TBSP for 4 servings). Quarter tomatoes. Dice cucumbers. Pick and roughly chop fronds from dill. Quarter lemon.
• In a second medium bowl, combine minced onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, half the dill, juice from half the lemon (whole lemon for 4 servings), a large drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Drain and rinse chickpeas; pat very dry with paper towels. • Toss chickpeas and onion wedges on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil, 1 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper (for 4, divide onion wedges and chickpeas between two baking sheets). (You’ll use the rest of the Shawarma Spice Blend in the next step.) • Roast on top rack, tossing halfway through, until chickpeas are crispy and onion is browned and tender, 18-20 minutes (for 4, roast on top and middle racks, swapping rack positions halfway through). TIP: It’s natural for chickpeas to pop a bit while roasting!
• Meanwhile, roughly chop pistachios. • Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pot (medium pot for 4) over medium-high heat. Add cherries, half the pistachios, remaining Shawarma Spice Blend, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. • Stir in rice, 3⁄4 cup water (1 1⁄2 cups for 4), and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium heat. • Remove chicken from marinade; allow excess marinade to drip back into bowl. Discard remaining marinade. Add chicken to pan and cook until browned and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. TIP: Lower the heat if chicken begins to brown too quickly. • Transfer chicken to a cutting board.
• Wrap pitas in damp paper towels; microwave until warm and pliable, 30-40 seconds. Carefully cut each pita into six triangles. • Fluff rice with a fork; stir in remaining dill, 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. Thinly slice chicken crosswise. • Divide rice between plates; top with chicken and roasted chickpeas and onion in separate sections. Drizzle with as much tzatziki as you like; garnish with remaining pistachios. Serve with cucumber salad, pita wedges, hummus, and any remaining tzatziki on the side.
Poultry is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The jeweled rice with dried cherries and pistachios was a standout hit, and the chicken marinade delivered warm, aromatic flavor 🍲. Some felt the shawarma spice was too uniform across every component, making each bite taste the same.
- Ease of prep: This is a genuinely complex, multi-component recipe — many reviewers noted it took 1–1.5 hours, well beyond the stated time, and dirtied a lot of dishes.
- Suggestions: Prep and chop vegetables earlier in the day to make the evening cook much smoother. One reviewer sliced the chicken and added a bit of baking soda and cornstarch to the yogurt marinade for more tender, evenly browned results. Halving the tomatoes instead of quartering them helps retain more juice and flavor. Consider doubling the cherries and pistachios in the rice for a richer, more jeweled result.
- Leftovers: The generous portions meant most two-person households had plenty left over, and several noted it reheated well for lunch the next day.
Reviews from our home cooks
Since I find chicken breast dry, I sliced and marinated with a bit of baking soda and cornstarch, then into the yoghurt mixture. This also cut down on the cooking time, and the chicken turns out tender and perfectly browned. Loved the basmati rice with spices and especially the pistachios and cherries - not a combo I would have thought of.
Okay I really like this, it was a fun challenge. I need WAY more schwarma spice though. I want to start by doubling it in the rice and on the chickpeas, and if there was any on the chicken I couldn't really taste it. I'm gonna take the yogurt out of the marinade and see if I like it better that way. The cherries are such a nice addition, and I'd double the amount and double the pistachios too. I didn't really like the onion in wedges and would cut it into slivers next time
Great recipe. In fairness, I used my own chicken as we didn't receive it in the box. The chicken was moist and perfectly seasoned. The rice was warm with flavor. The star was the cucumber salad. So yummy. The very best part. Those fresh, pillowy pitas. Best I have ever eaten.
It was really good, but a lot of time to make. Lots of chopping tomatoes, cucumbers, dill, lemon, onion, pistachios. I ended up doing the chopping In the afternoon and then making the dinner in the evening. That helped
Good try. But the spice was too intense for the rice. And pretty complicated. Would do again with variations. As always the tomatoes were horrible and used my own. Please with in veggie quality! You're called helloFRESH
We enjoyed this a lot! I initially was not sure why the extra [MASKED] per meal but I realize it had a lot of additions ( humid, tatziki sauce .. bread, pistachios..). It was a lot of stuff. We increased the amount of rice and added more water as I think hello fresh water to rice ratio is low for basmati. The dish was awesome.
Loved this dish! It had a ton of steps, but so rewarding! Wonderful flavors and textures!
This was one of the harder recipes to put together, but well worth it. Again, plenty of food!
It was delicious and reminded me of a middle eastern restaurant except I did all the work.
Very good meal, but it takes much more time to prepare than what is stated on the recipe!
