The National Dish of Palestine | Musakhan

Today I'm sharing one of the most well known dishes to come from Palestine. Yes this is a dish that is enjoyed all throughout the Levant but it's known throughout the region that Palestinians do this dish the best. It's a very simple dish, chicken and onions, seasoned in mostly sumac, cooked in an absurd amount of olive oil, and served on top of beautiful and fluffy bread. It's a dish I hope can open your eyes and your stomach and interests you to take a look at Palestinian history and culture!

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Musakhan | Palestinian Chicken & Onions:

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Ingredients

Taboon Bread

• 500-520g Warm Water

• 7g Active Dry Yeast

• 750g Bread Flour

• 30g Powdered Milk

• 14g Salt

Musakhan

• 4-5 Bone-In Chicken Quarters or Thighs

• 2-3 tbsp Zawi Chicken Spice

• 2-3 tbsp Sumac

• 1 tbsp Salt (divided)

• Olive Oil (as needed)

• 2-3 Red Onions

• Taboon Bread (Or any flatbread)

• Parsley (garnish)

• Aleppo Pepper (garnish)

• Pine Nuts (garnish)

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Instructions

Taboon Bread

Mix the active dry yeast and 100-120g warm water in a bowl and allow it 15 minutes to bloom. If the yeast doesn’t get foamy then the yeast may be dead and you need to start over.

Add 750g bread flour, 30g dry milk, and 14g salt together in a large mixing bowl. Once they yeast has bloomed, pour into the dry mixture along with another 400g of warm water. Begin mixing until you have a wet sticky dough.

Roll the dough onto a floured surface, rub your hands with olive oil, and begin kneading the dough until you have a nice smooth surface. Oiling your hands helps keep the dough from sticking to your hands. This is a very sticky dough so use the slap and fold method to keep the kneading going. Once you have a smooth dough, place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let it rest anywhere from 90 minutes to 2.5 hours.

Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each into a small ball. Cover and let them rest for another 20-30 minutes.

Roll each ball flat into a 8-10 inch wide circle. Let them rest for another 10 minutes. Then either bake at 500F for 5-8 minutes or cook in a pan with a bit of oil (about 3-4 minutes per side).

Enjoy right away or cool and refrigerate - stays good for about a week. I love to cut them to fit in the toaster.

Musakhan

Season the chicken thighs with 2-3 tbsp Zawi Chicken Spice, 1 tbsp Sumac, half a tbsp salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Massage the seasoning all over the chicken. Place in a large baking sheet and bake at 400F for 1 hour.

Slice the red onion into thin strips. Place the onions in a bowl and add another tbsp of sumac and half tbsp of salt. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. This helps soften the onions and remove their sharpness.

Heat a large skillet, add a half cup of olive oil, and then the seasoned onions. Saute for 10-15 minutes on medium low heat until the onions are soft and bright pink. Then remove from the heat and set aside.

Optionally, heat a small skillet, add a touch of ghee, neutral oil, or olive oil and add the pine nuts. Coat them in the oil and toast until golden brown. Then strain into a paper towel and set aside.

Heat a piece of taboon bread or flatbread in a pan with a touch of oil. No need to toast it too much, you want a light crisp.

Place the bread on your plate, cover with onion, then place the chicken on top. Garnish with aleppo pepper, parsley, and pine nuts. Enjoy!