Go Back
a dish of chicken and rice with sauces

Middle Eastern Chicken and Rice Fattah

Kelly
Fattah - a Middle Eastern chicken and rice dish served with two sauces.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Servings 6 servings
Calories 1418 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the chicken:

  • 1 2 ½-3 pound whole chicken chicken parts, or 2-3 smaller chickens
  • 2 cups buttermilk or yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon Baharat click for recipe
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the spiced broth:

  • 1 large onion roughly chopped
  • 2 lbs chicken bones and/or carcasses
  • 1 stick celery
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion chopped fine
  • 1 tablespoon Baharat
  • 1 - 2 chicken bouillon cubes to taste

For the saj bread base:

  • 1 large saj or markouk bread about 6oz, 170g

For the almond and pine nuts:

  • 1 cup whole almonds 5.7oz, 162g
  • ¼ cup pine nuts 1.3oz, 37g
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • salt

For the ground meat topping:

  • ½ lb ground beef or lamb 227g
  • 1 teaspoon Baharat
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

For the rice:

  • 3 cups rice I use a medium grain jasmine rice.
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon Baharat
  • 5 cups or as necessary spiced broth
  • salt to taste
  • 5 cups spiced broth

For the yogurt sauce:

  • 2 cups plain yogurt 17oz, 482g
  • 1 clove garlic pressed, smashed, or chopped fine
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

For the garlicky lemon and chili sauce

  • 6 cloves garlic pressed, smashed, or chopped fine
  • 2 - 3 green chilies chopped fine or to taste
  • ½ cup lemon juice

Instructions
 

For the chicken:

  • Begin marinating the chicken the day before cooking. Mix buttermilk or yogurt, Baharat, and salt in a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken, press out any excess air, and put in refrigerator to marinate overnight.
  • Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let rest on the counter 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Wipe off excess buttermilk or yogurt, place in a baking pan, and brush with vegetable oil.
  • Bake until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh but not touching the bone registers 165 degrees F.

For the spicy broth:

  • Make a chicken stock with the chicken bones, onion, celery, bay leaf, salt, pepper and enough water to cover the bones and yield 2 quarts broth. I make mine in the pressure cooker for one hour. Alternatively, you can cook it on the stovetop for 2-3 hours. As a shortcut, you can use store-bought broth.
  • In a separate pan, sauté the finely chopped onion in butter until soft. Add 2 quarts of chicken broth, chicken bouillon cube, and Baharat. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Taste broth and adjust the salt and pepper.

For the saj bread:

  • Rip the bread into bite sized pieces and allow to sit uncovered for several hours to dry out. You can speed this up by drying it in a warm oven.

For the almonds and pine nuts:

  • If your almonds have the skin on, boil in water for a few minutes. Drain and let cool. The skins are easily pulled off. Cut almonds in half.
  • Cook pine nuts in ⅓ cup oil over medium-high heat until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon.
  • Cook almonds in same oil until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon.
  • Lightly salt almonds and pine nuts and set aside.

For the ground meat topping:

  • Saute the ground beef or lamb, Baharat, and salt (using a little oil if necessary) breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon, until brown and crumbly.

For the rice: *see note

  • Melt butter in a medium-large sized pan.
  • Saute rice for 30 seconds.
  • Add Baharat and broth. Taste and adjust salt as necessary.
  • Bring to a boil. Turn on low and keep covered. Allow to cook for 7 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.

For the yogurt sauce:

  • Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Keep in the refrigerator until needed.

For the garlicky lemon and chili sauce:

  • Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix.

To assemble and serve:

  • Pour enough hot spiced broth over dried saj bread in serving dish to moisten all of it, about 2-3 cups. Let it absorb the broth for a few minutes. See photo above for how it should look.
  • Spread rice on top of saj bread.
  • Layer ground meat topping on top of rice.
  • Sprinkle almonds and pine nuts over rice and meat.
  • Place chicken on top of rice.
  • Drizzle everything with yogurt sauce if desired, or serve sauce separately.
  • Serve garlicky lemon and chili sauce separately.

Notes

  • This method works for the type and brand of rice I use. If you have a preferred method of cooking rice, by all means use it. Different types of rice will need different liquid and cooking time requirements.

Nutrition

Calories: 1418kcalCarbohydrates: 154gProtein: 53gFat: 66gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 18gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 3517mgPotassium: 1109mgFiber: 11gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 985IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 471mgIron: 8mg
Keyword chicken rice fattah, middle eastern fattah
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!