Full question
I cooked the Indian-Spiced Chicken And Potato Traybake as per the recipe and the potatoes were rock hard. I took the chicken out and popped it in the frying pan. I left the potatoes in the oven for a further two hours!! Would do the recipe again as it is so tasty, but should I cook the potatoes beforehand?
Our answer
Nigella's Indian-Spiced Chicken And Potato Traybake (from AT MY TABLE) is a one-pan recipe that cooks the chicken and cubed potatoes with warming spices. The potatoes should soak up the juices in the pan and become soft and tender and not hard and should not need parboiling beforehand.
We suspect that the pan may have dried out a little too quickly, meaning that there was not enough liquid for the potatoes to cook in and this may have caused them to become hard. Pan dimensions and materials vary a lot and a larger pan, or one with a very shallow lip, could cause the liquid to evaporate more quickly. We would suggest checking the pan after 30 minutes and adding an extra splash or two of hot water (from a freshly boiled kettle) if the base of the pan looks dry. Most potato varieties should work for this recipe, but if you have a choice we would suggest looking for a larger floury (mealy) or all-purpose type of potato rather than small, new or baby-type potatoes.
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