When I was growing up, Djaj Mahshi was an absolute favorite of mine. I remember the excitement when my mother would remove the juicy chicken from the oven and we would all wait impatiently at the dinner table. I used to watch my mother cut through the chicken and see all the rice and nuts released.
In Palestine, stuffed chicken is a staple dish that is always on offer during festive times. Full of fragrant spices and flavor, it’s wonderful to eat with a side of plain yogurt and salad.
Preparation time
- 30 minutes
Cooking time
- 1.5 hours
Serves
- 4 pax
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 1 large chicken (1.5kg)
- 1½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. white pepper
- 1 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
For the Stuffing
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 300g minced beef
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 1/3 tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- 1/3 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup rice
- 30g pine nuts, toasted
- 30g almonds (optional)
Method
- Rinse chicken and rub with lemon. Set aside for ½ hour.
- Rub the inside of the bird with salt and nutmeg, and the outside with salt, nutmeg and pepper.
- Wash and drain the rice. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, brown the minced beef with butter, a sprinkling of salt and spices to taste.
- Mix the rice together with the meat and add ¾ cup hot water. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Cook for 5 minutes then turn off the heat.
- Add pine nuts and spoon the mixture into the chicken.
- Secure the skin together with a toothpick or thread.
- Preheat oven 425F / 220C.
- Place the chicken on a greased pan and cover with aluminum foil, cooking for about 1 hour. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking. This will make the outside of the chicken golden and crispy.
- When serving, pour some of the juices from the pan over the chicken and serve hot with a side of plain yogurt.
