Tempering the toppings in hot oil, a technique known as making a tadka, brings out their flavors and is the perfect counterpoint to the cooling yogurt in this simple, comforting dish. Be sure to use plain whole-milk yogurt, not a strained, Greek-style yogurt, for the creamiest porridge-like texture. Food & Wine restaurant editor Khushbu Shah makes this comforting yogurt rice whenever she needs some self-care after a long trip.
RICE PILAF WITH ORZO ŞEHRİYELİ PİRİNC PİLAVI
Region: İzmir, all regions
Though chicken and rice is a classic combination, creating a single Latin American version was far from simple.
A flamboyant Latin-American answer to the Spanish paella, the festive one-pot treat known as arroz con pollo is adored across Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean. This Cuban iteration was a famous late nineteenth-century dish served at Casa Arana, a stately restaurant located at the mouth of the Almendares River near Havana's emblematic seventeenth-century Chorrera Tower. According to novelists and historians, the chicken rice named after the tower was a big hit among Spanish colonial officers in the last dying days of Spain's reign over Cuba. Now often resurrected at restaurants and eaten at homes for a late Sunday lunch, the deliciously soupy arroz features chicken and medium-grain Valencia-type rice brightened with saffron. It is moistened with broth, wine, and always a splash of Cuban beer, and decorated with peas and strips of roasted red pepper. What a great dish to bring to a potluck!
This classic of classics usually contains hard-to-find land snails for which rosemary sprigs are often substituted (don't ask me why). For a simpler version, you can use all chicken: 6 boneless, skinless thighs. If using rice other than Calasparra or Bomba, use only 4 1/2 cups liquid.