Iraqi Shabbat Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Chop onions and place in a large oven casserole dish adding tomato puree and about 1 litre of water.
• Place chicken on top of onions and put into a pre-heated oven at about 150C for about 3 1/2 hours.
• When cooked, remove chicken and place to one side.
• Take half the juices with the puree and onions and put into a saucepan. Add the okra, salt, pepper and lemon juice and bring to the boil, simmer gently for 30 minutes. If tinned okra is used, drain well before use.
• Wash Basmati rice throughly and add to the rest of the juices in the casserole dish, add some more water to just cover and place back into the oven to cook for a further 1 hour.
• When the rice is cooked, portion up the chicken and add to the top of the rice and cook for a further 1/2 hour.
• The rice is now a wonderful reddy/golden colour with the taste of the chicken infused.
• Serve altogether with the Okra sauce.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in the turmeric and brown the chicken on all sides. Add the water, tomato paste, spices, salt, pepper (I use a lot of pepper and not very much salt) and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken.
• Return the cooking liquid to a boil and add the rice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. If the rice is dry, add a little more water. Take the rice off the stove and cool for a few minutes, uncovered.
• Mix the garbanzo beans into the rice mixture and then spoon a cup or so of rice into the cavity of the chicken. Make a well in the rice within the pot and nestle the chicken, breast side up, into the rice.
• Take the eggs and carefully prick a hole in the round part of the eggshell (to let air escape) and then bury them carefully in the rice around the chicken. Make sure they are not touching the bottom of the pot. Explosions are not good.
• Cover with aluminum foil and then cover tightly with the dutch ovens lid and bake in a 200F oven overnight (10 hours). You can also bake the casserole at 350F for 2 hours, reducing the heat to 250F and cooking for 2-3 more hours.
• When ready to serve, remove the chicken carefully and de-bone it. Arrange on a serving platter with the rice mounded around it. Scrape up all the crusty rice from the bottom of the pan - its the best part. Arrange the eggs, peeled and halved, on top of the rice.

Steps:

• In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium-low heat and brown onion.
• Add cloves, salt, turmeric, ginger, and garlic.
• Add chicken parts and a few pieces of skin (this helps prevent sticking).
• Raise heat to medium to brown meat.
• Mix/turn the chicken parts frequently.
• Reduce heat to low, cover, cook until tender about 30-45 minutes.
• Check it frequently and mix/turn chicken.
• There will be a lot of juice.
• At this point, the reason it is called Shabbat chicken (Religious Jews do not cook on Shabbat) is to place the pot on a warmer/hot plate until the men arrive home from synagogue and then serve over couscous or rice.
• I have found that this can be served immediately, simmered for longer, and tastes great heated up.
• I also usually make 2 chickens and double the spices.