{"id":8345,"date":"2013-12-21T20:53:40","date_gmt":"2013-12-21T20:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/?p=8345"},"modified":"2014-07-15T18:14:33","modified_gmt":"2014-07-15T18:14:33","slug":"a-traditional-middle-eastern-christmas-dish-roasted-chicken-stuffed-with-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/a-traditional-middle-eastern-christmas-dish-roasted-chicken-stuffed-with-rice\/","title":{"rendered":"A Traditional Middle Eastern Christmas Dish: Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Rice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marhaba! As you can realize from my previous posts<\/a>, I am really excited about Christmas and I do consider it as one of my favorite holidays of the year! Back home in Lebanon, different religious groups would also partake in Christmas celebrations, and Christians and Muslims alike enjoy everything that has to do with this season. In many parts of Lebanon and other states in the Levant, you can spot a Christmas tree right next to a mosque. For instance, the photo below is of a Christmas tree next to the beautiful Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christmas is around the corner, and I want to share a traditional dish that my wife and I have every year on Christmas Eve. Many in the Levant, Christians and Muslims alike, adore this savory dish. Many Arabs in the Levant prepare this dish for special guests and family members to honor important occasions, such as religious holidays and other special occasions. Today, I am going to teach you how to roast a chicken and stuff it with rice, the Middle Eastern way! As you know already, many Middle Eastern recipes use chicken, lamb, or beef in various ways to prepare and cook tasty dishes. This is a traditional dish to many Arabs in the Middle East and around the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like many of the other recipes that I have shared in the past, today I am sharing this recipe and the pictures from a blog called Obsessive Cooking Order<\/a>. This is not a completely easy recipe, but might seem familiar and relatively easy if you have cooked a turkey before or a large bird or piece of lamb that required a couple of hours for preparation and cooking. From our experience, the below ingredients and directions will provide you with a dish for 6 people. If you are less than that number, you can also have tasty left overs! Once you get all the right ingredients, it becomes easier with time.<\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 whole chickens (<\/b>\u0627\u0644<\/b>\u062f\u062c\u0627\u062c<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 lb ground beef (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0644\u062d\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0641\u0631\u0648\u0645<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3 cups Calrose or Egyptian rice (you can use Basmati rice) (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0623\u0631\u0632<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 large onions (<\/b>\u0628\u0635\u0644<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 medium carrots (<\/b>\u062c\u0632\u0631<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A handful of parsley (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0628\u0642\u062f\u0648\u0646\u0633<\/b>)<\/b> and cilantro (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0643\u0632\u0628\u0631\u0629<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\/4 green bell pepper (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0641\u0644\u064a\u0641\u0644\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0644\u0648\u0629<\/b> <\/b>\u0627\u0644\u062e\u0636\u0631\u0627\u0621<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 lemon (\u0627\u0644<\/b>\u0644\u064a\u0645\u0648\u0646<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Olive oil (<\/b>\u0632\u064a\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0632\u064a\u062a\u0648\u0646<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Salt (<\/b>\u0645\u0644\u062d<\/b>)<\/b>, ground cardamom (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0647\u0627\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0637\u062d\u0648\u0646<\/b>)<\/b>, lemon zest (<\/b>\u0642\u0634\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u064a\u0645\u0648\u0646<\/b>)<\/b>, Chinese ginger (<\/b>\u0632\u0646\u062c\u0628\u064a\u0644<\/b>)<\/b>, ground white pepper (\u0628\u0647\u0627\u0631 \u0623\u0628\u064a\u0636<\/b>), turmeric (<\/b>\u0632\u0639\u0641\u0631\u0627\u0646)<\/b>, cayenne pepper (<\/b>\u0641\u0644\u0641\u0644 \u062d\u0631\u064a\u0641<\/b>)<\/b>, chili powder (<\/b>\u0627\u0644\u0641\u0644\u0641\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0627\u0631<\/b>)<\/b>, black pepper(<\/b>\u0628\u0647\u0627\u0631 \u0623\u0633\u0648\u062f)<\/b> and ground cloves(\u0642\u0631\u0646\u0641\u0644 \u0645\u0637\u062d\u0648\u0646)<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Directions:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rinse (<\/b>\u0634\u0637\u0641<\/b>)<\/b> the chicken thoroughly and remove the guts (<\/b>\u0623\u062d\u0634\u0627\u0621<\/b>)<\/b> and any unwanted parts but leave the skin (<\/b>\u062c\u0644\u062f<\/b>)<\/b> intact.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rub generously with olive oil, lemon juice and spices. Cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rinse the rice until water is clear and no longer cloudy. Cover the rice with water and leave it aside to soak (<\/b>\u0646\u0642\u0639<\/b>)<\/b>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Meanwhile, chop (<\/b>\u0623<\/b>\u0647\u0631\u0645<\/b>)<\/b> the onions and place the rest of the vegetables in the food processor. Process until you have small chunks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Heat some olive oil in a large deep frying pan on high heat. Place the onion and saute until golden brown.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Add the ground beef and cook with onions until all the liquids are absorbed.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Add the vegetables (<\/b>\u062e\u0636\u0631\u0648\u0627\u062a<\/b>)<\/b> and stir (<\/b>\u062d\u0631\u0651\u0643<\/b>)<\/b>. Season with salt, seven spices, ground black pepper, ginger, turmeric and saffron. Lower the heat to low.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drain the water from the rice and add to the meat and vegetables. Mix well to incorporate all the seasonings and flavors. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and leave it on the heat for a few minutes. It will not cook the rice completely.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Stuff (\u0627<\/b>\u062d\u0634\u064a<\/b>)<\/b> the cavity with the prepared stuffing. Place some stuffing between under the skin for extra moisture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pour the juices that dripped from the chicken while marinating on the stuffed chicken.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cover pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and place in a preheated 400\u00b0 F oven for an hour.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you have left over stuffing, cover the rice with water and place on high heat. When the water starts to bubble lower the heat to medium low and cover pan. Allow rice to cook fully and leave aside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I encourage you all to give it a shot. You won\u2019t regret preparing and cooking this dish for relatives or friends.<\/p>\n

\n

Sahtein!!!<\/b><\/p>\n

\u0635\u064e\u062d\u062a\u064a\u0646<\/b><\/p>\n

Stay tuned for upcoming posts!<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Marhaba! As you can realize from my previous posts, I am really excited about Christmas and I do consider it as one of my favorite holidays of the year! Back home in Lebanon, different religious groups would also partake in Christmas celebrations, and Christians and Muslims alike enjoy everything that has to do with this…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":8367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3525,3],"tags":[7973,253753,43,295828,295825,8846,295830,295829],"class_list":["post-8345","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arabic-language","category-culture","tag-arabic-food","tag-arabic-recipes","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-in-the-levant","tag-learn-to-cook-arabic-food","tag-lebanon","tag-stuffed-chicken","tag-traditional-arab-dishes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8345"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9843,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8345\/revisions\/9843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}