One-Pot Spiced Turkey and Rice

Updated Oct. 15, 2024

One-Pot Spiced Turkey and Rice
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
55 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(974)
Comments
Read comments

Inspired by the flavors of keema — the Indian dish of spiced, ground meat — this pantry-friendly meal includes rice cooked in the same pot for a one-pan dinner of the most fragrant variety. Feel free to substitute other ground meats for the turkey: Chicken, lamb, beef or pork will all work well, adding their brawny character to the mix.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1medium yellow or red onion, diced
  • 1tablespoon tomato paste
  • 3garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
  • 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated, or 1 small red or green chile pepper, minced, or use both
  • teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more to taste
  • teaspoons garam masala, plus more to taste
  • ¼teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼teaspoon ground cayenne
  • 1pound ground turkey
  • 1cup long-grain white rice (basmati or jasmine)
  • 1cup frozen peas or corn
  • 1cup freshly chopped cilantro or parsley, more for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

323 calories; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 391 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add olive oil to a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven. Add onion and cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic and ginger and chile, if using, and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in salt, garam masala, cinnamon, cayenne and turkey. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula or spoon, until it’s deeply browned, 6 to 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the rice and coat in mixture. Stir in 2½ cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook at a gentle simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just tender, 23 to 27 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Remove the lid and stir in the peas and cilantro or parsley, if using. Cover and cook until the peas are heated through, another 1 to 3 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Top with more chopped herbs if you like, and sprinkle with more garam masala.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
974 user ratings
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Comments

This one is a keeper! Easy prep and one pot are always a favorite. I agree with another commenter that increasing garlic, ginger, and spices would be good for flavor. We don’t do it this round but will the next time we make it. Only changes I made was using brown rice. I soaked the rice for about 5 hours and the cooking time in the recipe worked.

quick and pretty decent, good for a weeknight! i’d recommend using 1/4-1/2 cup less water and check the rice periodically. i used the full 2.5 cups and it turned out a bit mushy. i’d also recommend topping with green onions and a fried egg!

This was well received—excellent. Doubled all of the spices (not the salt) including the ginger. Used half of a large serrano pepper as well. Used peas which were fine. 24 minutes for the basamati rice I used.

So simple, yet so satisfying. I love the subtle heat from the chile pepper.

This is a nice, lighter take on Keema, which I have generally made with beef. I do a fair amount of Indian cooking, so I made some small substitutions: ghee instead of oil, Kashmiri chili powder instead of cayenne. I also used aged basmati, which I washed and soaked. I took the tips from many of the cooks here to reduce the water to two cups and get more liberal with the spices. It was perfect at 23 minutes on low and then the petite peas didn’t need much time. I would have gone with cilantro as my preferred herb, but the spouse doesn’t like it, parsley it was. I will be making this on repeat!

I made this last night…. Eh… agree that the spices and seasonings needed to be doubled, It was ok, don’t understand why this was so highly rated, It wasn’t bad, per se, but it wasn’t all that good either. I won’t look to make this again. .

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