One-pot Urfa chilli chicken

Ingredients

• 600g skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 3cm cubes

• 2 onions, cut into 1cm pieces
• 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1cm pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1cm pieces
• 3 Turkish sivri peppers or ½ green bell pepper, cut into 1cm pieces
• 2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
• 8 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 170g extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste
• 2 tbsp pul biber
• 2 tbsp Urfa chilli flakes, to taste
• 1½ tbsp Turkish dried mint
• 2 tbsp oregano buds, crumbled, or dried oregano
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds, coarsely ground 1½ tbsp sea salt

Method

To roast the chicken, heat your oven to 240°C. You will need a deep-sided 22 × 30cm roasting tray. Place the chicken, vegetables, chillies and garlic into the roasting tray.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl with 300ml water and whisk gently to dissolve the tomato and pepper paste. Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables, then cover the tin tightly with foil. Roast for 40 mins then remove the foil, stir well, and return to the oven for a further 20 mins without the foil.

Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then dig in with some warm lavash or khobez flatbreads to mop up the juices.

Image: Joe Woodhouse

Recipe from Arabica: Small Plates, Big Connections by James Walters (Carnival)