Arabic Stuffed Chicken with Rice (Jaj Mahshi)
Arabic stuffed chicken also called Jaj Mahshi in Arabic is a super delicious and relatively easy Arabic recipe to make. My Arabic spice stuffed chicken recipe is made with just 3 steps: Marinate the whole chicken, Make the spiced rice, Stuff and Bake the chicken. You won't believe the buttery fall off the bone texture of the chicken you will get when you use a Dutch oven!
Equipment
- Rice cooking pan
- dutch oven or pan with tight fitting lid
Ingredients
For the Whole Chicken Marinade:
- 1 whole halal chicken
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Arabic 7 spices
- 1 teaspoon paprika
For the Arabic rice stuffing:
- 1 tablespoon grass fed butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef or ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp Arabic 7 spices
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 15 minutes
- 2 cups bone broth or water
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
How to Marinate the Whole Chicken:
- Start by washing your chicken to get rid of any chicken smell. I rub flour all over my whole chicken and then wash it till the water runs clear. If there is still a chicken smell, I then soak it with lemon juice and salt and then rinse it again till the water runs clear.Next, mix together the chicken marinate: olive oil, salt, 7 spices, and paprika. Rub it all over the chicken and make sure to get the inside of the chicken too for the best flavor.Set your chicken aside to soak up the flavors and prepare your rice.1 whole halal chicken, 3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon Arabic 7 spices, 1 teaspoon paprika
How to make the Arabic rice stuffing:
- Wash the rice till the water runs clear then cover the rice in water and set aside to rest for about 15 minutes.In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon butter till melted and then add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the ground beef or lamb and sprinkle on the 7 spices while the beef is still raw so it soaks up more flavor. Brown the beef breaking up large chunks to small pieces.1 tablespoon grass fed butter or ghee, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 pound ground beef or ground lamb, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Arabic 7 spices
- Drain the rice and add it to the ground beef, toss to combine.1 ½ cups basmati rice
- Next add 2 cups of broth or water. Bring the rice to a boil then reduce heat, cover and only cook 10-12 minutes till the rice is Al Dante. You don’t want to overcook it because it will cook more in the oven.2 cups bone broth
- Transfer the rice to a plate, add toasted pine nuts and fluff to let the steam out. Let it cool about 20-30 minutes before stuffing inside your marinated chicken.½ cup toasted pine nuts
How to Stuff and Bake the Chicken:
- Add about ⅓ the rice to a bowl and set the rest aside to reheat and serve later. I like to divide my rice so that I’m not touching the serving rice with the raw chicken. Stuff as much of the rice inside the chicken. Some people sew their chicken but I simply fold the skin over the rice and place the chicken in my Dutch oven lined with parchment paper so the chicken doesn’t dry out!
- Add a lid to your Dutch oven (or other baking pan that has a tight fitting lid). Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, then 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.Serve with the reserved rice and enjoy!!
Video
Notes
Tips I learned to make the best Arabic stuffed chicken:
1. Let your whole chicken marinate overnight if you have time this way it will soak up so much of the flavor.
2. Use basmati rice for fluffy rice and don’t over cook it or it will get soggy!
3. Line your baking pan with parchment paper, this makes sure all the chicken juice doesn’t evaporate and will give you super juicy chicken.
4. Use a Dutch oven! Keeping the lid on will help your chicken stay so juicy it makes the best stuffed chicken ever!
This stuffed chicken recipe came from the Palestinian Table cookbook by Reem Kassis and made a few adjustments, here’s how I made it!
Nutrition facts for any recipe on the hint of rosemary are only an estimate and not guaranteed!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving Arabic stuffed chickenCalories: 640kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 45gFat: 41gSodium: 110mgPotassium: 710mgFiber: 6g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!