A Wonderfully Warming Baharat Chicken and Rice recipe! With Garlic Butter Rice or other flavors, side of Vegetables (Diced Onions & Tomatoes, optionally diced Cucumbers) and chopped Lettuce. With Pepper Zing Mayo thinned out with a bit of water to create that White Halal Sauce that gets drizzled over top everything. Place everything into a tin bowl for that takeout feel.
This recipe brings together three (3) separate recipes for a spectacular meal, in about the same time it takes to cook the Rice. Add Naan Bread toasted in a pan to heat through and soften before slicing into four with some Hummus should you choose.
Baharat Chicken
For this dish, we are after the boneless Chicken Quarters or Breast seasoned with Salt & Baharat. Seared, rested and diced to serve with everything else. It really takes no time at all. Just season the deboned Chicken Quarters, Thighs and/or Legs with Salt and then the desired amount of Baharat Seasoning. Sear and set it aside to rest, and dice it to include in your Middle Eastern Baharat Chicken & Rice bowl.
The Baharat Chicken can be made in advance and refrigerated until you are ready to cook. Take it out for a bit before cooking to come to room temp.
Baharat Seasoning
Combine the below Baharat ingredients together, and season the Chicken with a bit of Salt and the desired amount of Baharat. There are all kinds of different ways the Baharat blend can be customized. With adding in additional ingredients or exchanging certain ingredients.
Baharat Spice Blend
- 1 tsp each of Coriander, Cumin, Black Pepper & Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom
- 1/4 tsp each of Cinnamon, Clove, and Nutmeg
Rice
The Garlic Butter Rice or any other flavored Rice takes the longest to prepare at about 30 minutes, so prepare this first. You can do it on the stove top or with a Rice cooker. The Rice cooker is the easiest, with just placing all the ingredients in and mix to cook on the basic white rice setting. Prepare everything else while the Rice cooks.
Garlic Butter
The Garlic Butter preparation takes a bit of time, but makes a lot. If you’ve already made Garlic Butter, making Garlic Butter Rice takes no time at all. I only make Garlic Butter Rice after preparing Garlic Butter for other dishes. Garlic Butter Rice just naturally follows. You can also use it to brush Pita bread or Naan.
Rice Bowl Vegetables
A side of chopped Lettuce with diced Onions & Tomatoes, optionally with Cucumbers and or Peppers added, are served for the Vegetables in this dish. Red or White Onions can be used too.
Chop & wash the Lettuce and set aside in a bowl. Dice the Onions & Tomatoes to wash and set aside in another bowl. This can be done while the Chicken is searing and resting.
You can also sub these vegetables with Pickled Red Onions, Pickled Cucumbers, Pico de Gallo, or a Greek Salad.
White Halal Sauce
The White Halal Sauce is the Pepper Zing Mayo with a bit of water to thin out. Either mix it together and funnel it into a squeeze bottle, or place directly into a squeeze bottle and shake well to mix through. Drizzle over the entire dish when assembled and ready to serve.
How to make White Halal Sauce
Combine the below ingredients into a squeeze bottle so that it can be drizzled over the plate or tin bowl. Shake really well to mix.
You can double the amounts of the Halal White Sauce, but you may want to keep the Salt & Pepper amount the same and then add more to taste, to adjust. You can additionally add in more of just Black Pepper to increase the heat, should you choose.
White Halal Sauce Ingredients
- 1/2 C Hellmann’s Mayo
- 1 tsp Water & Lemon Juice, each
- 1/4 tsp Salt & Pepper Blend
Bread
Pita or Naan bread sliced into small pieces is a very nice complimentary addition. The Garlic Butter can also be used to brush the bread. Heat the bread up in a pan over medium heat, to heat through and soften, before slicing and serving. Or if you want, make Fresh Homemade Naan Bread or Homemade Pita Bread, either freshly made or previously made.
You can also brush Pita Bread with Garlic Butter, spread Hummus on and sprinkle Everything Bagel Seasoning on top, Delicious!
Quick Chicken Dinner
This Baharat Chicken & Rice Bowl is a complete meal that comes together at just about the same time the Rice cooked in a rice cooker is ready, a total of about 30 minutes, give or take. Making this dish a Quick Chicken Dinner.
While the Rice is cooking, the first 10 minutes is for deboning and seasoning the Chicken, while heating a skillet up over medium heat during the last 5 minutes. Another 10 minutes for searing all the Chicken at the same time. With the final 10 minutes for resting the Chicken.
In between searing and resting the Chicken, the Vegetables are diced and washed and the Halal White Sauce prepared. Just as the Chicken has fully rested, the Rice should be ready to serve, and you’re all set to start assembling your Baharat Chicken & Rice bowl.
Equipment
- 1 Large Skillet for searing the chicken, large enough to fit all 4 pieces
- 1 Rice Cooker for the rice or use another smaller skillet or pot on the back burner
- 2 Bowls for the Lettuce & Vegetables
- 2 Smaller Bowls for the Salt & Pepper blend and Baharat seasoning
- 1 Squeeze Bottle for the white halal sauce
- 4 Tin Bowls for the takeout experience or use plates
- 1 Cutting Board for resting the chicken and dicing
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Quarters - Deboned
- As Needed Sea Salt - To season the Chicken
- As Needed Neutral Oil - To sear the Chicken
- 1 portion Baharat Blend
- 1 portion Garlic Butter Rice
- 1 portion White Halal Sauce
- 1 Tomato & Onion - Diced
- 4 handfuls Lettuce - Chopped
- 4 spoonfuls Hummus - Optional
- 4 Pita or Naan Bread - Optional
Instructions
- Prepare the Garlic Butter Rice and start cooking it in the Rice cooker.
- While the Rice is cooking, debone the Chicken Quarters and season them with Salt & Baharat. Heat a large skillet up over medium heat until hot. Add Oil to cover the bottom of the pan and wait for it to start smoking slightly. Add the seasoned Chicken Quarters in, skins side down and sear for about 5–6 minutes per side.
- Remove the Chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. While resting, prepare the Vegetables and White Halal Sauce. Optionally heat Pita Bread or Naan in the cleaned out pan over medium heat until heated through and softened, chop in pieces to serve with Hummus.
- Chop the Chicken in pieces and plate with Rice, Lettuce, Vegetables, Bread & Hummus if using. Drizzle White Halal Sauce over the top. Optionally garnish with Parsley & Aleppo.