Halal Style Chicken and Rice

As a new New Yorker, I was unaware of the phenomenon that was the halal cart on practically every street corner in Manhattan until moving here a few months ago.  So tonight's dinner is inspired by the chicken and rice you can buy off the street for $5 a pop, 24/7, with that oh-so-divine yet oh-so-mysterious "white sauce".

To construct my "knockoff chicken and rice" I created a lettuce base, topped with saffron infused rice mixed with cilantro, and finished with my chicken and veggies.  But let's not forget the white sauce garnish.  We had "dined" at one of the halal carts a few nights earlier, so we had leftover white sauce in a to-go container perfect for adding to our own meals throughout the week. 

For this version I used romaine lettuce.  (Here's an unnecessary picture of the pre-assembled lettuce on the plate.)

 

I prepared the yellow saffron rice according to package directions but added in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro toward the end of the cooking.

For the chicken, I chopped some yellow onion, mushrooms, scallions, garlic, and chicken breasts.  Add a little olive oil to a skillet, saute the onion, garlic, and mushrooms until softened.  Throw in your chicken.  Now at this point I added my spices: cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and ground black pepper. 

I went for cooking over a dry heat with dry spices to mimic the fresh-off-the grill aspect of the halal carts.  I threw the scallions in toward the end to cook a little.  But ultimately, the chicken and veggies were quite darkened and had a nice kick to them. 

I scooped my rice on top of the lovely bed of lettuce showcased above.  Then came the chicken/veggies.  And finally what street food meal is complete with the sauce?  A little googling yieldss mixed theories as to the contents of this sauce.  Some say mayo/vinegar.  Some say cucumber/yogurt.  Our version of the sauce had many black specks in it (and no cucumber to be found), and the taste was reminiscent of ranch dressing.  So use whatever sauces/dressings you like.  The lettuce lets you pretend you're having a salad, while the rice reminds you that you're having a heartier meal.