Halal cart style chicken and rice is a delicious fragrant one dish meal that is easier than you think. Perfectly spiced tender chicken with fragrant yellow Basmati rice all drizzled in a copycat Halal guys white sauce. A restaurant quality dish easily done at home.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- Widely loved and so popular Halal guys dinner at home.
- Easy and affordable—made with delicious spice combination.
- Make ahead dinner idea.
With a heavenly combination of crispy chicken, basmati rice, and lots of warm bold spices, this dinner is sure to please the whole family. Halal cart chicken and rice is one of those scrumptious dinners that is so good, even picky eaters will be hooked from the very first bite.
📝 Ingredients
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- For the chicken marinade you will need: olive Oil, garlic, lemon juice, 7-spice mix, cumin, oregano, coriander, sumac, turmeric, salt and pepper.
- Chicken thighs.
- Basmati rice.
- Heavy mayonnaise for the sauce, more on that below.
🥄 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken thighs and marinade ingredients, mix well, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
- Heat a grilling pan or a large pan, add a little bit of oil and cook chicken pieces for 10 minutes or until done and browned nicely.
- Make the rice by melting ghee on medium heat, then add cumin, turmeric, rice stir well then add water or chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook until done.
- Assemble the bowls by scooping some rice at the bottom, top with cooked chicken, pita wedges, lettuce and tomatoes.
- Drizzle Halal guys white sauce on top then add some hot sauce over.
💡 Tips
For the white sauce, you will need a special mayonnaise that is made with egg yolks only and not whole eggs. Brands I’ve found here are blue plate, Good and gather organic mayonnaise and sir Kensington’s avocado oil mayonnaise.
- You can use any rice you have but basmati is the original.
- I like using fresh garlic rather than garlic powder for the marinade.
- Chicken thighs are best for this recipe but you are welcome to use breasts if you prefer.
- If you do not care about the original white sauce, I would actually prefer the garlic sauce like in this toum recipe or the quick shawarma white sauce we made several times like in this shawarma rice recipe.
🧺 Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
🍽️ Serve With
This dish is a complete meal by itself but if you must you can serve some tabouli, hummus, or baba ganoush to the side.
👩🍳 Variations
- Make it your own with other chicken cuts like chicken breasts.
- Use beef shawarma, kebab, turkey or chicken kofta or vegetarian using veggie skewers.
📣 Related Recipes
- If you love copycat recipes try this Cracker Barrel chicken and rice recipe or this Panda Express chicken Kun Pao, they are so good.
- Cornish hen recipe is one of my favorite chicken recipes as it uses simple herbs and spices to create an amazing flavor.
- This chicken and yellow rice recipe is easy to prepare and tastes great. It’s perfect for dinner parties or family gatherings.
- Make your dinner table more interesting with this elegant Mediterranean rice pilaf. This rice is bursting with flavors with a touch of sweetness that sure to impress.
More Middle Eastern Recipes
- Elevate your grilling game with this recipe for shish tawook. Juicy tender chicken in a mouthwatering aromatic Middle Eastern marinade is a must try.
- Chicken Shawarma is one of the most popular dishes in the Middle East. Try this delicious recipe with the best shawarma marinade.
- Mansaf is an authentic Jordanian dish made from lamb meat cooked with rice and amazing garlicky sauce. It’s one of the most popular dishes in Jordan.
- Here is an authentic koshari recipe with all the tips and tricks to get the best koshari on the table.
- Koftas are one of the most popular food all over the Middle East, here is an easy kofta kebab recipe.
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Halal Chicken and rice
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 3 Tablespoons olive Oil
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 2 Tablespoon 7-spice mix
- 1 Tablespoon Sumac
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt or to your liking
- 2 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken thighs fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
For the rice:
- 2 tablespoons ghee unsalted butter, or olive oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 cups basmati rice washed.
- 3 cups hot water.
For the sauce:
- 1 cup extra heavy mayonnaise
- 3 Tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
- Pita bread cut into wedges shredded lettuce, cubed tomatoes and sriracha sauce if desired.
Instructions
- In a deep bowl, combine chicken thighs and marinade ingredients, mix well, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
Meanwhile start making the rice:
- In a pot over medium high heat, melt ghee add turmeric and cumin. Stir for a minute or until fragrant.
- Add rice and stir for a couple of minutes until all the rice granules are coated with the ghee mixture.
- Add salt and pour in hot water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is done and all the water is absorbed.
Cook the chicken:
- Heat a grilling pan or a large pan, add a little bit of oil and cook chicken pieces for 10 minutes or until done and browned nicely.
Make the sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and whisk well.
To assemble:
- Spoon rice in individual plates, top with chicken pieces, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pita bread and drizzle white sauce and some sriracha sauce over
Notes
- You can use any rice you have but basmati is the original.
- Chicken thighs are best for this recipe but you are welcome to use breasts if you prefer.
- For the white sauce, you will need a special mayonnaise that is made with egg yolks only and not whole eggs. Brands I’ve found here are blue plate, Good and gather organic mayonnaise and sir Kensington’s avocado oil mayonnaise.
- If you do not care about the original white sauce, I would actually prefer the garlic sauce like in this tour recipe or the quick shawarma white sauce we made sever times like in this shawarma chicken rice recipe.
- Variations:
Make it your own with other chicken cuts, beef shawarma, kebab, turkey or chicken kofta or vegetarian using veggie skewers. - Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
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