Saudi saleeg is a very traditional and comforting dish, with rice that’s as creamy as porridge, and juicy roasted chicken. It’s such a unique dish, sort of like Middle Eastern risotto, and is a staple in so many Saudi households. My version is straightforward and gives you this a chicken stock infused rice and perfect roast chicken. So worth a try!
This rice dish originates from the Hijaz region of Saudi, but is enjoyed all over Saudi and the Gulf region of the Middle East.
If you like classic Saudi dishes, you have to try this chicken machboos. Also, try pairing the Saleeg with this Gaza salad, which is sort of like a herby salsa.
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Ingredients
- Chicken: You’ll want chicken that’s skin on, bones in. This can be either halved or quartered, both work great.
- Aromatics: Things like peppercorn, star anise, cardamom pods, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks to enhance the flavor of the broth. This is highly customizable to whatever you have on hand and like to include in your stock.
- Onion: I also like adding an onion to my stock while it cooks
- Ghee: This is clarified butter, it’s a really classic part of Saleeg. You can use melted butter or olive oil instead if you prefer.
- Spices: To finish off cooking the chicken, like seven spices or all spice, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper. Again, this is customizable. You can use whatever spices you usually use on chicken!
- Rice: You’ll want to use short grain rice. I used Egyptian rice, but American rice also works.
- Hot Water: To cook the rice in to get that porridge like texture.
- Milk: Use whole milk to really give the dish teh creaminess it needs.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Add all the stock ingredients to a large saucepan.
- Step 2: Bring to a boil then simmer until chicken cooks through.
- Step 3: Place the chicken from the stock onto a baking pan.
- Step 4: Rub with ghee and sprinkle spices on top, then roast until golden brown.
- Step 5: Add the rice, chicken stock, and water to a large saucepan.
- Step 6: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes.
- Step 7: Add a splash of liquid if rice is drying out and cook until porridge like.
- Step 8: Add in the milk and cover the pot with a lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
Hint: Really infuse your chicken stock with flavor, since this is the base of the rice. Once it’s done cooking, taste and adjust seasoning by adding extra salt or spices as desired.
Saleeg consistency
This is one dish where you don’t need to worry about overcooking the rice, you want it nice and mushy and almost oatmeal like.
How to serve:
- Sides -You can serve with daqous, or any spicy sort of salsa, or a fresh green salad like fattoush.
- Jazz it up- If you really want to elevate saleeg, you can try topping with toasted nuts, fresh parsley, and/or crispy or caramelized onions.
- Chicken – You want to use chicken with bones in it to make the broth that the rice is cooked in, but you can go for quartered chicken or chicken pieces if you prefer.
- Ghee – Traditionally you serve this with a little extra ghee drizzled over the top, but you can leave this out or subsitute with olive oil if you prefer.
Storing Leftovers:
If you have leftover saleeg rice, heat on low heat in a saucepan with an extra splash of water or milk. You can serve with any other chicken or meat you have on hand if you don’t have leftovers of the roasted chicken. Leftovers will last 2-3 days in an airtight container.
See this chicken fatteh if alternately you need something to do with leftover chicken.
Expert tips and tricks:
- Really infuse the broth with aromatics, taste it when it’s done cooking and see if you need to add anything to season it. This is the base of the flavor of the saleeg rice, so you want it to pack a punch!
- Broil the chicken for a couple of minutes if you need to to get that gorgeous golden brown color.
- If midway through cooking time the rice seems to be drying out too much, add a splash of water.
- To prevent the saleeg from sticking to the base of the saucepan, stir occasionally and keep checking on it from time to time.
Top Tip
Make sure you use short grain rice, like Egyptian (calrose rice). Avoid long grain rice like basmati, you won’t get the same texture.
Recipe FAQs:
Saleeg is aa traditional Saudi dish made with chicken (or sometimes lamb) and short grain rice cooked in a flavorful chicken broth. It has a creamy, porridge-like consistency. A splash of milk or cream is usually added to the rice to give it some richness and a smooth texture.
Yes, you can cook the saleeg with store bought chicken stock if you prefer. If you go that route, you can top the saleeg with boneless chicken, shredded or the like.
Just add a little liquid of choice- either water, more broth if you have it on hand, or milk to loosen it up. Stir over low heat until you get to your desired consistency.
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
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Saleeg
Ingredients
For the chicken stock:
- 1 whole chicken, cut into half or quartered
- 8 cups water
- 3 cardamom pods
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- pinch peppercorns or freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon salt
For finishing the chicken:
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon seven spices or allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
For the rice:
- 2 cups Egyptian rice, soaked for 20 minutes then drained and rinsed until water runs clear.
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cups whole milk
- salt to taste
- extra ghee for drizzling
Instructions
For the chicken stock:
- Add the chicken to a large pot, along with the water, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, peppercorns, onion and tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil on medium high heat, and skim off any foam that accumulates.
- Lower heat to a medium low simmer, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F (220C).
- After chicken in the stock has cooked through, transfer the chicken pieces to a baking dish. Strain the stock in the large pot, and keep strained stock aside (you don't want the whole spices or the onion piece anymore.)
For the chicken:
- Brush chicken pieces with melted ghee,sprinkle generously with salt and pepper,and mix together the seven spices, paprika and turmeric and sprinkle on top of the chicken evenly. Place in oven and roast for around 20 minutes or until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through (you can broil for the last minute or two for extra color), then keep the chicken aside. While the chicken is in the oven, start the rice:
For the rice:
- Add the rice to a large pot, along with the strained stock (about 7 cups) plus an extra 2 cups of hot water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes. Check on the dish halfway through, stirring and making sure there is still plenty of water. If it seems to be drying out, add a splash of water.
- After 30 minutes, if the rice is cooked through and porridge like in texture (like creamy oatmeal) move on to the next step, adding the milk, otherwise cook another 15 minutes, and if it's drying out add a little more water.
- Once rice has absorbed most of the water,and has broken down into a porridge, smush it a little bit with a wooden spoon, and add the milk plus any additional salt to taste. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Place in a serving dish, drizzling with a little extra ghee and then placing the roasted chicken on the center. Enjoy immediately!
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