Palestinian chicken Musakhan is one of the traditional and rich recipes that speaks volumes of this generous cuisine. Roast chicken with sumac served over a bed of musakhan bread with caramelized onions and roasted almonds. A drool worthy dinner.
Palestinian chicken musakhan
I was really really shocked when my Palestinian friend told me about this dish!!! I kept asking are you sure then she replied yes no doubt about that... that's how we traditionally make it.
This recipe calls for a one large diced onion and a half cup of olive oil for each piece of taboon bread you are using. So, if you are having company and made like 12 bread pieces you will need 12 diced onions and 6 cups of olive oil.
Turned out that this huge amount of olive oil needed to make the bread crispy and flavorful. And the onions? seriously what sets this dish apart. The caramelized onions sauce is seriously delicious, you wouldn't appreciate it until you try it. I even eat this sauce with rice, bread or by the spoonful.
But, I've decided to tweak it a little and made it with less, still it turned out delicious so it is your choice to make it as is or to reduce the amounts like I did. This is a very traditional Palestinian dish known for its delicious taste due to the use of olive oil, nuts and sumac.
What goes into Musakhan?
I cooked the chicken the traditional way by boiling. You'll need to use bone in chicken, whatever you have. I've seen some making it with wings which was a nice twist. We'll also need a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and some authentic spices for cooking the chicken.
For the caramelized onion sauce
For an authentic recipe, make your own Musakhan bread. You can also make pita or if you do not have time buy some Greek or naan bread. We'll also need onions, lots of onions actually. I've used 5 onions. Then the spices that will make all the difference. Traditionally I've seen this Palestinian sumac chicken served with almonds. But you are welcome to use whatever you like or have in your pantry.
Cook the chicken:
- In a deep pot, large enough to hold you chicken pieces, heat oil and saute onions until translucent.
- Add chicken pieces, cook on both sides until little browned.
- Cook chicken in batches if necessary.
- Add spices then cover with water. Bring to a boil, skimming the foam of the top whenever possible. Simmer until fully cooked. Take the chicken out and set aside. Do not discard the broth.
Making the caramelized onion
- In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil and add the diced onions, cook until tender then add the cumin, salt, black pepper and the allspice, stir to mix well.
- Add the roasted almonds - or any nuts you like, turn off the heat and let it cool down.
- Add one and a half cup of the chicken broth we’ve just made to the mix. Turn heat off and leave to cool down a bit.
- Dip the cooked chicken in the onion mixture, be generous to cover the chicken with the onion sauce.
- Arrange chicken pieces on a baking sheet sprinkle some sumac on top and broil until golden brown. bake in the oven 350F until golden brown and no more liquids in your baking dish.
- Dip the bread - one at a time - in the onion mixture then place on a baking sheet.
- Using a slotted spoon take some of the onion and spread over the bread. Sprinkle with sumac put in the oven and bake until golden brown and crispy.
Serving Musakhan
Now we are finished with the dish so let's assemble it. Put the bread on top of each other and arrange the chicken pieces around. Or serve individually with each bread piece topped with chicken and any leftover onion sauce on the side. Enjoy with a side of tabouli, hummus, tahini sauce or baba ganoush.
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Musakhan: Palestinian sumac chicken
Ingredients
For cooking the chicken:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil.
- 1 medium onion diced.
- 1 whole chicken cut into 8 parts or 8 of any bone in chicken you prefer.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- 2 bay leaves.
- 3 cardamom cloves crushed just to open.
- Boiled water to cover.
For the caramelized onion:
- 3/4 - 1 cup olive oil.
- 5 (950g) yellow onions.
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin.
- 1 teaspoon salt.
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- 1 Tablespoon allspice.
- 2 Tablespoons ground sumac or to your taste.
- 1 cup (175g) blanched roasted almonds.
- 6 Taboon bread Greek bread or naan.
Instructions
Cook the chicken:
- Heat olive oil in a deep pot and sauté onion for a couple of minutes until translucent.
- Add the chicken and brown all around.
- Add salt, pepper, bay leaves and cardamom.
- Cover with boiled water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer until fully cooked.
- Take the chicken out and set aside. Strain the broth and also set aside.
Make the caramelized onion:
- In a skillet over medium heat pour the olive oil, add onion and cook until lightly caramelized. About 5 minutes.
- Add the spices except for the sumac and roasted almonds.
- Add one and a half cup of the chicken broth we’ve just made to the mix. Turn heat off and leave to cool down a bit.
Broil the chicken:
- Take the chicken we’ve just cooked and dip them in the onion mixture.
- Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sumac and broil until golden brown.
Prepare the bread:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Dip each bread piece in the onion mixture then using a slotted spoon take some of the onion and spread over the bread. Sprinkle with sumac.
- Bake the bread in the oven until just golden brown and crispy.
Assemble the Musakhan:
- Place bread on top of each other then place chicken over or serve each piece of bread topped with chicken.
Thank you for sharing these lovely recipes, your story, and a much needed tour of history. It’s nice to revisit the taste and flavors I grew up eating! Will defiantly give this a try since my husband grew up eating this.. I think he will LOVE this! Thank you and keep it coming!
Thank you so much Anissa, let me know if you have any questions.
Alsalamu alaykum Amira! I want to tell you that I really enjoy your recipes and videos. I’m familiar with some of them since I am of Arabic origin but I like having a recipe sometimes to follow since oftentimes when I learned these recipes I learned them without measurements. I love your videos as well! Please keep them coming!! A suggestion if you could would be to cook low carb recipes. Love you! Much future success inshallah!!!!
Thank you so much for your sweet words, I appreciate it. Me too, I'm learning how to cook from mom which eyeballs almost EVERYTHING :). Will do my best on the low carb recipes inshaa Allah soon. Keep checking.
Wow! That bread is like a complete meal with all those wonderful additions tucked into it. Love Indian and Middle Eastern breads. I could fill up on those alone.
What a delicious meal!!! I'm glad it worked well with just half the oil 🙂
Very interesting dish, at my house we eat chicken 7 days a week so I always look for chicken recipes.
We also eat a LOT of chicken around our home. Try it out even my ewwww kids ate this and did not complain as usual :).