Saleeg

An authentic Saudi dish, chicken saleeg is a comforting rice cooked into a savory porridge with beautifully golden roasted chicken on top. This is a unique but truly delicious dish, and very authentic to Saudi Arabian cuisine!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Diet Gluten Free, Halal

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 2

Servings people

Calories 262kcal

Author Farah Abumaizar

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!

Video

Notes

Ingredient notes:

You can use any bone in chicken, make sure you keep the skin on it too, because the fat in the skin will give great flavor to the broth and it'll caramelize in the oven for that beautiful golden brown color.

Make sure you use short grain rice, this recipe won't work with Basmati or long grain rice.

If you don't want to use or can't find ghee, you can use melted butter or a little olive or vegetable oil instead.

Process notes:

If midway through cooking time the rice seems to be drying out too much, add a splash of water and keep an eye on it.

If saleeg is too thick, add a splash of any liquid- whether it's more broth, water or milk, Stir and keep cooking on low until it loosens up.

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 leftover of the roasted chicken. Leftovers will last 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Nutrition