Baked rice casserole with chicken breast, curry and pineapple

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g rice
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp, heaped turmeric powder
• 1 can pineapple slice(s), 560 ml / drained weight 350 g
• 400 g chicken breast fillet(s)
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 tbsp oil for frying
• 2 tbsp, heaped curry powder
• 350 ml chicken stock, alternatively chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• Cayenne pepper or chili flakes
• 2 tsp, heaped cornstarch or dark sauce thickener
• 150 g grated cheese, e.g. Gouda, Emmental

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Family recipe, called “Indian rice” in our country

Cook the rice in salted water with the turmeric powder according to the package instructions, but not for the full cooking time; it must still be firm to the bite, as it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain into a large sieve and set aside. Drain the pineapple slices into a sieve, reserving the juice. Cut the slices into thin pieces, about 1 cm wide. Cut the chicken breast fillet into cubes (about 2 cm in size) and finely dice the onion. Brown the meat cubes all over in hot oil in a large pan or pot, add the diced onion and fry for a few minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of curry powder and let this brown briefly. Pour in the reserved pineapple juice and the chicken stock, and season well to hot with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and possibly a little more curry powder. Add salt sparingly if you want to thicken the sauce at the end with a salty thickener. Simmer gently for 10 minutes over low heat. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/convection oven (200°C top/bottom heat). Mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth and thicken the sauce with this or with the dark sauce thickener. Season again with the spices mentioned above. It can/should have a very strong, intense, but also distinctly sweet flavor. Don’t be surprised by the amount of sauce; the rice will absorb some of it during the time in the oven to finish cooking. Carefully mix the rice, pineapple chunks, meat and sauce in a baking dish, cover with the grated cheese and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the cheese has the desired color. The casserole serves 4-6 people, depending on your appetite. Tip: The recipe is quite variable: more or less meat, more or less pineapple, turkey breast or pork loin instead of chicken breast, replace some of the chicken stock with more pineapple juice (Tetra Pak), Parmesan or Gruyère for the topping… and, and, and… Furthermore, the casserole is very easy to prepare and tastes great even (or especially?) reheated. This recipe, which we call “Indian Rice,” has been in our family for over 40 years. I’ve probably made it several hundred times (since I learned it from my parents), as the casserole is a favorite with young and old alike. It has been slightly modified and adapted over the years until it reached its current “final” version.