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Turkish Chicken & Rice Traybake Recipe – Tavuk Kapama

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Every home should have one: A go to chicken and rice traybake recipe that guarantees to satisfy every time. In Turkey, that recipe is called tavuk kapama.

A chicken traybake taken from above. Mixed vegetables including sliced red peppers and onions are garnished with fresh green herbs.
Our take on tavuk kapama – Turkish chicken & rice traybake

Over the years, our tavuk kapama has developed and been tweaked here and there.

So much so that, these days, what we actually have a is a fırında sebzeli tavuk kapama – chicken and rice traybake with vegetables.

And depending on mood – or what odds and ends of vegetables we have in the fridge or freezer – those vegetables can change on occasion.

That’s the beauty of this dish.

But we do have two essential veggies that always feature: Onions and peppers.

The Turkish verb ‘kapamak’ means to cover or to close.

So tavuk kapama is chicken that is covered or closed in with rice.

Chicken breast will be too dry for this traybake recipe, so it’s best to use chicken thigh.

Traditionally, tavuk kapama generally uses chicken drumsticks. But for ease of eating – and taste (I’m not a fan of drumsticks) – we use skinless, boneless thighs.

If you have family or friends dining with you who love drumsticks you can do a mix of the two. Keep the whole family happy!

The cooking time is the same.

We love an easy recipe! And this is one of our favourite chicken recipes.

Raw chicken pieces rubbed with spices.
Coat your chicken pieces with your spices and oil

Once you’ve done this chicken and rice traybake a few times, if you’re anything like us, you’ll be reaching for spices from the spice shelf and sprinkling them over your chicken pieces as you see fit.

Even adding extras here and there.

And it’s just a case of rubbing them all over your chicken pieces so that they’re evenly coated.

In the recipe card below, we’ve put exact amounts as a guide. But as the late, great British chef, Keith Floyd said, cooking is not a science.

Go with what you feel.

In our recipe we use Turkish chicken spice mix.

This is widely available in Turkey from spice stalls on local markets and specialist spice shops.

Outside of the country you’ll be able to get this from Turkish or Middle Eastern supermarkets or online.

We also like to pour a drizzle of nar ekşisi over our chicken pieces for more Turkish Mediterranean flavours.

We start to preheat our oven whilst we colour the chicken pieces on each side.

Once they’re seared, your oven should be ready and you can start on the next stage of your chicken and rice traybake.

Cooked pieces of chicken thigh in a circular bowl with rice filling the gaps between.
Sprinkle the rice between the chicken pieces

We place our chicken thighs in a single layer into a large roasting dish, leaving the chicken juices behind in the frying pan.

Now, the observant amongst you will have noticed that some of these photos are of our chicken and rice traybake in a circular ovenproof dish and some in a square glass dish.

That’s because we really do make this often and we use whichever oven dish is to hand – and I’m a prolific taker of photographs so this recipe is not a one-off photo shoot.

Both dishes are approximately 30 centimetres in diameter and our quantities for the recipe fit perfectly.

  • 180-200 grams of white rice (we use Jasmine rice) is now sprinkled between the gaps of the chicken thighs. US readers, this approximately 1 cup of rice. There’s no need to be completely exact with the amount of rice.
  • And now we pour 600 millilitres of hot water or chicken stock (chicken broth) over the top of the rice and the chicken and place it in the centre of the oven.
  • This is not traditional but for extra nutrition and colour, we add a spoonful of turmeric (zerdeçal) to our hot water, hence the warm, sunny yellow colour.

Altogether, our Turkish chicken and rice dish is going to take 45 minutes to cook in the oven.

And once we’ve placed it on the middle shelf, this is when we crack on with our vegetables.

A close up of colourful cooked vegetables in a traybake.
Frying the vegetables first gives them lovely charred bits

As we said above, we always have peppers and onions in our traybake.

And there’s always other frozen or fresh ingredients such as mushrooms (as in our photos above), garden peas or green beans.

We chop our vegetables, add a little olive oil to the chicken juices in the frying pan and fry the veggies for a few minutes on medium to high heat until they start to colour and soften.

In the past, we have tried adding the raw vegetables straight to the chicken and rice but we find frying first gives extra texture and extra flavour.

By now, your chicken and rice will have been cooking for 15-20 minutes or so, depending on how fast you chop your veggies.

We remove it from the oven and add the vegetables and chicken juices to the baking dish, gently pushing some beneath the surface and leaving others on top to get nice and toasted.

Then it all goes back into the oven for the remainder of the cooking process (20-30 minutes) until the chicken and rice cooks and the stock is absorbed.

After 45 minutes, we remove our fırında sebzeli tavuk kapama from the oven and leave it to stand for a few minutes.

Turkish chicken and rice traybake serving, taken from above.
Yummy fırında sebzeli tavuk kapama

We like to garnish it with chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, coriander or basil and – sometimes – pitted black olives.

And, naturally, this Turkish chicken and rice traybake is extra tasty with side dishes of silky smooth natural süzme yoghurt.

Okay, let’s get cooking.

A traybake taken from above. Mixed vegetables including sliced red peppers and onions are garnished with fresh green herbs.
5 from 1 vote

Turkish Chicken & Rice Traybake – Tavuk Kapama

This tasty, oven baked Turkish chicken and rice recipe is also loaded with vegetables and spices for lots of extra flavour and texture. It is great to eat at any time of year and is quick and easy to make. Its versatility means you can enjoy it as a weekend treat or as a weeknight dinner.
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Author Turkey’s For Life
Course Main
Cuisine Turkish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 sharp knife
  • 1 frying pan
  • 1 ovenproof dish
  • 1 measuring jug
  • 1 kitchen scales
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

For The Chicken Thighs

  • 6 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)
  • 3 cloves garlic (peeled & crushed or grated)
  • 3 teaspoons Turkish chicken seasoning (or cajun spices)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
  • salt & pepper (to season)
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil (for frying)

For The Rice

  • 180 grams long grain rice
  • 2 onions (peeled & sliced into half moons)
  • 1 red bell pepper (deseeded & cut into strips)
  • 1 green bell pepper (deseeded & cut into strips)
  • 150 grams mushrooms (chopped into chunks)
  • 2 fresh chillies (roughly chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 10 black olives (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (roughly chopped)
  • 600 millilitres chicken stock (or hot water)

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius (370 Fahrenheit).
  • Except for the pomegranate molasses and sunflower oil, add all of your chicken ingredients to your chicken thighs and rub them in so that the thighs are evenly coated.
  • Now heat your sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat.
  • Once your oil is hot, add the chicken thighs to the pan and leave to sear for a couple of minutes.
  • After two minutes, turn them over and drizzle your pomegranate molasses over the top.
  • Whilst your chicken thighs are in the pan, boil your kettle.
  • When you have coloured both sides of your chicken thighs, remove the pan from the heat.
  • Add the chicken thighs to your oven dish, spacing them so that they are in a single layer, leaving any juices in the frying pan.
  • Now sprinkle your rice around the gaps between the chicken.
  • Stir the turmeric into your boiling water or chicken stock and carefully our it over the chicken and rice.
  • Set your oven timer to 45 minutes and place in the centre of the oven.
  • Now place your frying pan back on a medium high heat and add your onions and peppers.
  • Fry for around 5 minutes, adding a little more oil if necessary.
  • As they take on coloıur, add your mushrooms and stir.
  • Fry for another 3 minutes or so until your mushrooms start to colour.
  • Remove the vegetables from the heat and remove your chicken thighs and rice from the oven.
  • Spoon your vegetables and any juices over the chicken and rice, gently pushing some beneath the surface.
  • Now place back into the oven and increase the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).
  • Leave to bake for the remainder of the time (approximately 35 minutes)
  • Now remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes after garnishing with the black olives and fresh parsley.
  • Serve each person with a chicken thigh and some of the rice and vegetables and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the top.

Notes

  • Our recipe serves 6 people as part of a bigger meal with meze or other side dishes.
  • If you are eating tavuk kapama as part of a complete meal, you will get four generous servings.
  • We use Jasmine rice in our recipe but other white, long grain rice will be fşne to use.
  • If you prefer, you can substitute the rice for bulgur wheat. In Turkey, look for ‘pilavlık’ bulgur; not the fine ‘köftelik’ bulgur. 
  • Please note that the nutritional information is calculated by a third party API. Do your own due diligence if you have any special dietary requirements. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 29gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 362mgPotassium: 715mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1218IUVitamin C: 68mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 2mg
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If you love chicken and rice recipes, you can also check out our recipe for the famous Turkish street food, tavuklu nohutlu pilav – chicken and chickpeas with rice.

And if you want to try more Turkish dishes at home, why not try some of our Turkish recipes from our growing collection?

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5 from 1 vote
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BacktoBodrum

Thursday 5th of September 2024

Did you see Keith Floyd cooking fish in Turkey. He covered it with a pot of cream. The Turkish chefs were looking on bewildered.

Turkey's For Life

Tuesday 10th of September 2024

Ha ha, gotta love Keith Floyd. :) And think Turkish chefs are more embracing of fish and dairy, these days, thankfully. Thanks a lot for the star rating. :)

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