These chicken skewers are deliciously spicy and flavourful, served with a side of lightly spiced turmeric rice with peppers and peas. A perfect dinner for those who like things spicy!
First of all, this is the first chicken recipe I’m posting, and I have to say – it’s a good one. I found this rice recipe while trying to replicate Nando’s spicy rice, but it turned out a little different, and after some editing the spice quantities (aka quartering the turmeric!) it turned out absolutely delicious! It still isn’t quite the same, but it’s still super tasty and makes the perfect side dish for spicy chicken.
I paired the rice with chicken simply because I thought I could come up with a nice marinade to match. I was right – the marinade was perfect! Even my youngest sister who doesn’t like spicy food enjoyed it, albeit with 3 glasses of orange juice to help tone it down. I chose to cook the chicken on skewers after marinating for 1-12 hours (1 works perfectly well, don’t worry). You could always bake the skewers or use the marinade on chicken breasts and pan-fry them though, if you prefer.
Now, I’m not going to lie; it’s reasonably spicy. If you find my Mexican veggie rice to be too mild, then this is probably more to your taste. After all, spicy is delicious and I know I’m not alone there. The turmeric rice is slightly milder though, so you may still enjoy that as a side dish!
The amount of turmeric that I used here was fairly minimal, although I must say I’m rather excited to cook with it more. After all, it’s supposed to be an incredibly healthy ingredient with anti-inflammatory properties. While I used ground turmeric here instead of fresh, you could try using fresh if you know roughly how much would be equivalent.
The main reason why I couldn’t use fresh was simply because you can’t buy it here; it certainly isn’t because fresh couldn’t work in this recipe!
When making this, there are options – you could make just the chicken or just the rice. The chicken works great for a barbecue as it can be marinaded a little in advance and the smoky flavour is delicious! However, if you’re vegetarian or vegan then just stick to the rice (it’s my favourite part anyway and I love chicken!).
If you make just the rice then I’d recommend making it as a side dish to a different protein or using it as a lunch. We often do this and it works great! You can also take it to work or school cold as a rice salad the next day and it’s incredible!
To see how to make the rice, scroll to the video just before the recipe box. It really shows how easy and simple it actually is!
How to make the chicken:
- Mix together the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat it. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for 1-12 hours.
- Thread the chicken pieces on to skewers and heat up the grill.
- Start grilling the chicken skewers, turning regularly.
- Cook until slightly charred on all sides and cooked through (use a meat thermometer if you’re unsure)
- Serve and enjoy it!
How to make the rice:
See, super simple? As always, if you have any questions or want to let me know how it turned out, leave a comment below or tag me on twitter, instagram or facebook. I hope you enjoy it!
Spicy Chicken Skewers & Turmeric Rice
A super-healthy turmeric spicy rice with peas and peppers, with tender grilled chicken skewers marinated in a delicious spice mix to create an easy and healthy dinner for two.
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200 grams (scant 7 oz) diced chicken breast or thigh
For the spicy rice:
- 150 grams (2/3 cup) basmati rice
- 400 ml (1 2/3 cup) water
- 1 veggie stock cube
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 chilli pepper, deseeded and finely diced
- 3/4 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 60 grams (2 oz) frozen peas
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
For the chicken marinade:
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients except the chicken. Add the chicken and stir to coat it well. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 1-12 hours.
Once marinated:
- Thread the chicken pieces on to skewers and set aside. Preheat the grill to medium-high if necessary.
- In a medium-large frying pan over medium heat, dry-fry the rice for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the water (just enough to cover the rice), stock cube and turmeric.
- Bring the water to a boil and simmer, stirring regularly as the rice cooks. If all the water is absorbed and the rice is not cooked, add a little extra and keep stirring and simmering until it's cooked and the water has been absorbed.
- Start to grill the chicken skewers, turning regularly until cooked through and lightly chargrilled on each side (approx. 15 minutes total).
- In a separate pan over medium-low heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion, pepper, chilli, cumin and paprika and stir-fry until softened. Add the frozen peas. Stir them in and cook lightly.
- Add the veggies to the cooked rice and mix them through well. The chicken should be cooked. Remove all pans from heat and serve the rice topped with chicken skewers.
Notes
Chicken must be marinated minimum 1 hour and maximum 12 hours. It can also be cooked in a grill pan or baked instead of on the grill if you don't have a grill.
If you wish to reheat the rice, always follow health and safety guidelines. The chicken may also be reheated or leftovers can be eaten cold, although once again, always follow food safety guidelines.
If you're making this for kids or someone with a low spice-tolerance, you may wish to reduce cayenne pepper in the marinade and paprika in the rice, as well as omitting the chilli pepper.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1/2 batchAmount Per Serving: Calories: 981Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 222mgSodium: 1987mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 7gSugar: 11gProtein: 74g
Nutrition information is an estimate and may vary.
If you liked this recipe and want to see more rice recipes, try this Fresh Herb Risotto – I promise you that you won’t be disappointed! Or, if you’re looking for spicy recipes, try this Chilli Cheese on Toast for a classy and spicy single-serving lunch. Enjoy and don’t forget to sign up for new post notifications and more goodies!
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This really is super easy! Will be trying this one for sure. The rice looks so tasty.
Thanks Melanie – it’s one of my favourite recipes because it’s so easy too! The rice is actually so delicious that recently, my sister actually took it to school in her lunch cold! It makes a great bbq side dish too – it’s got such great flavour!
This looks really tasty and I think if I reduced the spice I could get my little ones to really enjoy it!
Hi Helen!
Absolutely! My sister loves it and she has a relatively low spice tolerance. The rice itself isn’t too spicy, although I do recommend reducing the amount that goes on the veggies in the rice – perhaps use 1/2 or 3/4 of that, and cut out the chilli pepper. The chicken is the spiciest part by far, so that would need to be reduced more to suit their tastes – perhaps start with half and try using plain yogurt instead of olive oil as that’ll help to reduce the heat further!
Good luck! I hope they enjoy it, and make sure to tag me in a photo on facebook, instagram or twitter!
It looks amazing and I bet it tastes amazing too. I love spicy food – it’s only 8am but I could eat that whole bowl right now!
Me too – it’s good enough to eat any time of day! Spicy food is definitely the best type of food there is!
This looks absolutely delicious – my kids love the novelty of skewers
I must admit, if you put something on a skewer I’m probably more likely to eat it too – it’s more fun! Plus chargrilling the chicken keeps it so juicy and tender it’s amazing!
I love rice dishes. This looks very tasty.
Me too! It really is delicious – and it’s so easy that it’s more than worth the little bit of work!
I totally agree with you that chicken is a perfect for turmeric rice. Will definitely try this recipe. Thank you for sharing such recipe in a simple way and very easy to follow.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it, it really is super delicious!
Oh my, that looks delicious! I’m going to have try this one when BBQ season finally arrives!
Definitely! I often just cook the skewers in the oven or only make the rice for my family (vegetarians) and throw in some frozen quorn pieces, but the chicken skewers would be perfect with that smoky bbq flavour!
This dish looks really satisfying and tasty. I love the vegetable rice.
Me too! It’s so good that I often just make the rice as a side dish – it’s actually really delicious cold as a rice salad if you ever need one to take to work or school!
Oooh yum! The peachicks would definitely approve of this as one of our Round the World Wednesday dinners! #cookblogshare
I’m so glad you think it would go down well at your house! In ours, it even managed to get my sister (who really can’t cope with spicy food) to request it more often, even if she does prefer the rice to the chicken! I hope you enjoy it!
Wow! This looks really tasty and gorgeous! I would like to have a bowl of this right now! 😀 Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you like the look of it – it’s probably one of the recipes on this blog that we make the most, right alongside my foolproof fresh herb risotto. Although we often just make the rice – it’s so good that you don’t even really need the chicken (even if the chicken is delicious too – plus, the rice alone is suitable for vegetarians!)
The rice along sounds so tasty. 🙂
Absolutely! It really is so delicious that once you try it you just can’t stop eating!
The meal looks really yummy. I am fan of turmeric rice and roasted and grilled chicken.
It’s super delicious! I love grilled chicken too – especially when it’s spicy!
Ooh I love a bit of spice. This looks very tasty.
I’m glad you like the look of it – the chicken is really pretty spicy, while the rice is slightly on the milder side. I must say though, both are delicious either together as a meal or paired with something else!
Anything with spice in it is for me. I love spicy foods and so do most of my family. Those that don’t get an extra helping of yogurt on the side!:-) Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare. Michellex
definitely agreed – spicy food is good food! To be honest, I didn’t put any yoghurt on the side here, although a little plain yoghurt would go very well with the chicken skewers especially!
This sounds delicious and the fact they are spicy sounds like they are right up my street!
It’s nice to see another fan of spicy food! The chicken and rice really are as delicious as they sound too – it’s one of my family’s favourite recipes!
Superb recipe, thank you. Very fresh and delicious and yet easy to make.
I’m so glad you like them! Did you prefer the chicken or the rice? Personally, I like the rice best – that beautiful golden yellow from the turmeric just calls to me!