Djej M'ammer b'r-roz, Algerian Chicken Stuffed with Rice, Poulet Farci au Riz

Another dish for Ramadan. Actually all the recipes on my site are suitable for Ramadan.

This is a very easy dish to make. It's one of those slow cooked all day dishes that are found in Algeria. It's very flavorful and satisfying.

Some cooks will leave a dish like this on the stove or fire all day long, until everything is meltingly tender.

 

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1 aubergine

2 red peppers
2 poivrons rouges

1 onion
1 oignon

3 tomatoes
3 tomates

1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 cuillere a soupe de paprika

1/2 tablespoon of your favorite spice blend
1/2 cuillere a soupe d'epices

1 cup of rice
200 gr de riz

1 pinch of saffron
1 pincee de safran

2 tablespoons of pine nuts
2 cuillere a soupe de pignon

2 tablespoons of raisins
2 cuilleres a soupe de raisin

1 whole chicken
1 poulet

Salt
Sel

Black pepper
Poivre

2 tablespoons of butter
30 gr de beurre

Method:

1) Chop the vegetables as shown. Add paprika, spice blend and about 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 cups of water.

2) Soak the rice overnight or parboil for about 5 minutes. Add the saffron, raisins and pine nuts. You can toast the pine nuts for an added dimension of flavor. You can use turmeric instead of saffron.

3) Stuff the chicken under the breast skin, season the outside and inside with about 1` tablespoon of salt total and black pepper. Stuff the cavity with the rice. If you have extra rice, well an Algerian would just add it to the vegetables. We never throw away food.

4) You can steam the chicken or cook it in the pot with the vegetables. I cooked it in the same pot as the vegetables for about 3 hours. Move the chicken around a bit every 30 minutes or so to prevent burning. Cook over a VERY low flame. As always you can choose to skim the fat that rises to the top. I usually do that. But for a poor family with scarce resources the fat is a welcomed addition to the diet.

Algeria Algerian Cuisine Algerian Recipes Algerian Food Algerian dishes Cuisine Algerienne Recettes  Algerienne North African cuisine Maghreb Cuisine

Comments

[Paz]

This looks good. I like the idea of the chicken stuffed with rice.

Ummm... I'm curious. Why do I have to soak the rice overnight or parboil it. What's parboil?

Paz

[Farid]

Hi 1@aol.com

I think it might be just you. No one else has told me about that problem.