Musakhan (Chicken with Sumac and Caramelized Onions)
Musakhan (Chicken with Sumac and Caramelized Onions) is a traditional Palestinian recipe for a classic dish of flatbreads moistened with yoghurt sauce, topped with onions, chicken cooked in yoghurt sauce and finished with toasted almonds or pine nuts. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Palestinian version of: Chicken with Sumac and Caramelized Onions (Musakhan).
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Muskahan is a traditional chicken recipe from Jordan, Palestine and other nearby areas of the Levant (Syria and Lebanon in particular). It's served both at family gatherings and as a street food, with the bread serving as a sandwich. It consists of three parts: a flat bread named taboon, caramelized onions and a piece of chicken marinated with sumac and other spices. The whole dish is served topped with toasted pine nuts or almonds, which provide a needed crunch to the final dish.
The dish owes its name to the practice of Palestinian farmers reheating old taboon bread and make it taste better. The exact origin of the dish is unclear, references to it are found in Palestinian folk songs from the 19th-century.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and rub marinade all over. Cover and refrigerate for 5 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.
Pr-eheat oven to 170°C.
Turn the chicken and its marinade to a baking dish. Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 1 hour.
Whilst the chicken is baking, prepare the onions. Heat the olive oil on a frying pan over high heat. Add the sliced onions and fry for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the sumac and the salt.
Continue cooking until the onions are caramelized, stirring frequently, (around 15 to 20 minutes). Take off the heat and set aside.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer the chicken to a flat dish. Add the taboon or naan to the this dish and allow to soak in the sauce.
To serve, transfer the bread to a warmed serving dish. Spread the caramelized onions on top of the bread and top with the chicken.
Garnish with toasted pine nuts and chopped coriander then serve.
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