Do you have something to celebrate? A new bride in the family? A new mother?
The fact that it is Saturday?
Djaj
Mahshi
1 whole chicken, pastured preferred
Rice and Meat Stuffing:
(Enough for extra to cook on the
stove top or to stuff two chickens)
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup rice, soaked overnight, rinsed
and drained
1 teaspoon butter
1 3/4 cups chicken stock or water
1/2 lb ground lamb or beef
Salt and pepper
All spice
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
1/2 cup pine nuts
Chicken Rub:
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons yogurt
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses*
1 tsp Middle Eastern chicken
seasoning, or all spice
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
1. Saute the diced onion in olive
oil until translucent. Add rice and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add
chicken broth or water, 1 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, 1 tsp all spice, and a
little freshly grated nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then simmer until becoming
tender, but not mushy, about 15 minutes.
2. Brown the meat, breaking up into
small pieces with your spatula. Season with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp all spice,
and little cinnamon.
3. Saute the pine nuts in a
tablespoon of butter, over low heat, stirring carefully and watching. They burn
very easily.
4. In a bowl, combine the rice,
meat, pine nuts and onions. Check seasonings.
5. Wash the chicken and pat dry
inside and out and set it into a shallow roasting pan.
6. Divide the rice into two separate
bowls, to prevent contamination. Reserve one bowl to serve with the chicken.
Spoon stuffing from the other bowl into the cavity of the chicken, fitting as
much as you can. Using toothpicks, secure the opening to the cavity as best as
you can. If you prefer, you can sew the cavity closed.
7. In a small bowl, combine lemon
juice, yogurt and pomegranate molasses. Rub into the chicken breast. Salt and
pepper the chicken liberally. Place some pats of butter under the breast skin,
and rub a little more onto the chicken skin.
8. For a tender bird, slow roast the
chicken using this method. Preheat oven to 300 F and roast the chicken. Roast
until the chicken reaches 160 F, then turn the oven up to 375 F, baste the
chicken with its juices and roast until the chicken's internal temperature
reaches 180 F. This should take a total of two and a half to three hours,
depending on the size of the chicken.
9. Cover with foil and let the
chicken rest for five to ten minutes, for its juices to redistribute.
10. To make the most flavorful rice,
pour some of the chicken drippings from the roast pan into the reserved rice
stuffing and stir it in. Then try not to eat it all on the spot.
*You can purchase pomegranate molasses at Middle Eastern
grocers, large grocery stores, or you can make it yourself. See recipe.
This recipe looks so delicious, can't wait to try it! I had a little trouble understanding what you put into the cavity of the chicken though. Is it the cooked spiced rice? I can't imagine leaving that in the oven for 3 hours, won't it become mushy?
ReplyDeleteWe hope to make this with a local one day!! Looks and sounds amazing! Great description and story!
ReplyDeleteI love all your recipes and all your stories. As a proud Palestinian - Colombian reading your blog takes me back to my childhood with my family members in Jordan... I have never been to Palestine yet but Inshallah will go soon.... keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your food, recipes, stories and memories! God bless
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe ..long live Palestine from all of Egypt
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteJessica, please reply to my comment above. Debbie
ReplyDeleteJust made this recipe!! Can’t wait to bite into it! The stuffing mixture was AMAZING!! I used couscous instead of rice, but looks delicious and smells great!
ReplyDeleteJust ate some—fabulous! Also, didn’t have pomegranate molasses, so I just used ol regular molasses! It tasted just like mamas did, maybe even better. 😉👍🏼
Delete