Musakhan-Palestinian Chicken

 

Palestinian chicken or sumac onion chicken is a popular Palestinian street food. I got this chiclen idea dish, after getting my sumac stock ready. Sumac is a spice widely used in Mediterranean dish. It's gaining popularity in Western countries and too sad not much known in Asian cuisines. Hope the time will come soon for us to get familiarize with this beautiful spice.

Sumac gives slightly tangy and unique taste on it's own or when add to dishes. It goes well in salad,poultry dishes,seafood especially fish and even in making sumac tea. Rich in antioxidants which helps to fight free radical to fight cancer,heart disease and sign of ageing. There are vibrant red sumac,brown and maroon which available in Middle Eastern groceries.

I bought mine in a Middle Eastern grocery near my neighbourhood. This time i managed to get this beautiful vibrant sumac. I used sumac to make tea and this chicken dish is my first attempt in adding them in cooking. I shall say this is an absolutely delicious chicken which gained me tons of praise from my family. I placed the onion and chicken on my homemade Naan. The recepi for Naan can be found in my blog. Musakhan or Palestinian chicken indeed juicy,full of flavor and sumac enhanced the flavour of the dish.

Ingredients

4 pcs chicken breast with skin intact

2 1/2 tbsp sumac

3 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp all spice

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp ground black peppercorns

Salt to taste

1 lemon,juiced

2 Indian flatbread or Naan

Garnishing

Lemon wedges

Olives

Sprinkling of sumac

Methods

Add lemon juice and turmeric powder to the chicken breast and stir well. Cover and rest for 15-20 minutes.

In a bowl, add olive oil, paprika,all spice,cardamom powder,cinnamon powder,sumac, ground black pepper,salt and ground cumin. Mix well.

Reserve a tablespoon of the spice mix for sauteeing the onion.

Rub the remaining spice mixture to the chicken to coat well.

Heat pan with olive oil sear the chicken with skin upside down for 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan.

Heat oven to 180'C or 350'F. Lined a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the chicken on the prepared baking tray and bake for 1 hour or till the chicken are done.

Meanwhile, in the same pan used to sear the chicken, add onion and sautee in low heat till translucent. Stir frequently to avoid the onion from burning. 

Add the reserved spice mixture and sautee for another 20-25 minutes till the onion are soft. Remove from pan and keep aside 

To asemble, take a flatbread, top with sauteed onion & baked chicken.

Sprinkle with sumac and garnish with lemon wedges,simple salad and olives.