Musakhan
This Middle Eastern chicken builds bone-in chicken pieces, sumac and ground allspice into a proper meal you can have ready in about 65 minutes. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and pan. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (7)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Rub the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, 1 tablespoon of sumac, salt, pepper and the juice of the lemon, and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roast the chicken in an oven preheated to 200 C for about 35 to 40 minutes until golden and cooked through to an internal temperature of 75 C with clear juices.
- While the chicken roasts, thinly slice the onions and cook them slowly in the remaining olive oil over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes until very soft and lightly golden but not crisp.
- Stir the remaining sumac into the soft onions so they turn deep crimson and smell tart and fragrant, then season with salt.
- Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until golden, then warm the flatbreads and lay them out, spreading the sumac onions over each one.
- Set a piece of roast chicken on each onion-topped flatbread, spoon over any resting juices, scatter with the toasted pine nuts and an extra dusting of sumac, then serve hot.
You'll use: Oven Β· Pan
Ingredient substitutions
- Lemon
- lime Β· 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
What to serve with Musakhan
Tips & common questions
How long does Musakhan take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 6 steps and 12 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lemon?
Try lime. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Musakhan is an original Middle Eastern recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Musakhan JO 1.jpg by Freedom's Falcon, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.