persian chicken

This Persian Chicken recipe is so flavorful and comforting! The savory, tender chicken and basmati rice are infused with fragrant Baharat spice - a delightful one-pan dinner that comes together quickly and easily!

Persian Chicken Recipe

basmati rice –

bone-in, skin-on chicken- a mix of breasts and thighs are perfect

Salt salt

olive oil

onion

garlic cloves, rough chopped

water

salt

barberries, optional

saffron, crumbled (or sub ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric)

Optional garnishes: Flat leaf parsley, cilantro, pomegranate seeds, nuts

cinnamon

cumin

coriander

black pepper

cardamom

allspice

nutmeg

cloves

Place rice in a bowl and cover with water to soak while you prep the remaining ingredients.

Mix the Baharat spices together in a bowl. Season all sides of the chicken with salt ( use 1 teaspoon per pound) then rub the spice blend all over the chicken, using it all. Set chicken aside. See note. 

In a large oven-proof skillet, braiser or Dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion and garlic until tender and fragrant, seasoning with salt and pepper, and set these aside.

To the same pan, add more oil if needed. Place the chicken skin-side down, gently searing over medium heat, just until nicely golden, about 4 minutes.Turn over, and sear 1-2 minutes. No need to cook through.  Set it aside.

Rinse and drain the rice well—place in the same pan. Add the water, salt, saffron and barberries. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits.

Nestle in the rest of the onions, in between the chicken. Rice should come to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove cover and continue cooking until rice is tender and thighs reach 165F, another 15-20 minutes. Feel free to broil for a few minutes if you like a crispier skin.

Garnish with parsley or cilantro. Pomegranate seeds would be nice here too or add a nut.

Excellent.  Made the rice as well and it turned out perfecty. Love the flavors!

Persian Chicken (Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh)

vegetable oil

yellow onion, chopped

garlic,

turmeric

chili powder

tomato paste

chicken stock

of the saffron water (see below)

salt and pepper

saffron

ice cube

basamati rice (dry)

Half of the reserved saffron water

barberries (you can buy them here)

butter

sugar

cucumber

tomatoes

red onion

lemon

Salt and pepper

This Persian Chicken recipe takes the grand prize for being the best dinner option for a weekly night. This recipe has a special mix of spices called the Persian spice blend.

Basmati Rice

Bone-In Skin-On Chicken

Salt

Olive Oil

Red Onion

Garlic Cloves

Cups Water

¼ tsp Turmeric

Almonds (for garnishing)

Cinnamon

Cumin

Coriander

Black Pepper

Cardamom

Allspice

Nutmeg

Cloves

Start by soaking the basmati rice in a big bowl of water for at least 30 minutes.  

Then, coat the chicken with salt and the spice blend.

Now, add oil to the pan and heat it up. Then add garlic and onions.

Follow it up with salt and pepper, sauté them well, and keep them aside.

Now in the same pan, add the marinated chicken and cook for about 5 minutes each side. Keep the kitchen aside.

Add some water to let it boil, and add the rice.

Time to add some turmeric to amp up the flavors.

Let it simmer until the rice is cooked.

Now, add the chicken to it.

Then add fried onions and garlic on top.

Also, garnish it with almonds. I prefer to slice my almonds before garnishing.

Your Persian style Chicken in ready to serve.

This flavorful joojeh kabob recipe features tender chicken marinated in a vibrant mix of saffron, yogurt, lemon juice, and spices, then grilled to perfection. Served with crispy rice, a refreshing Shirazi style salad and sumac aioli- it’s a classic that will always come through when you need a wholesome dinner.

Joojeh Kabob (Persian chicken skewers)

tsp sugar

Chicken thighs

Saffron water

Lemon juice

tbsp Yogurt

Olive oil

tsp Black pepper

Saffron powder

Turmeric

Yellow onions

saffron water

lemon juice

Mayo

Yogurt

garlic

tsp Sumac

tsp Dried mint

saffron powder

tsp salt

Shishito peppers

Yellow onion

Tomatoes

Make saffron powder by grinding saffron and sugar with a mortar and pestle until powdered. You will need this powder for the chicken marinade and sumac aioli so make a double batch as the increments in the ingredient section will make ⅛ tsp. Set this powder aside.

Make saffron water by heating up 1 cup of water until it's just before boiling point. Take the water off the heat then grind up saffron and sugar once again with a mortar and pestle until powdered. Pour a little hot water into the mortar and stir, then pour that saffron water into the remaining hot water so you have 1 cup of saffron water and allow this to cool. *note you will likely have a little left over saffron water. Simply store it in the fridge, use it to make tahdig or persian rice or use for other marinades. 

Cut up chicken thighs into long strips. Do not cut the chicken thighs into squares as they will be too thin and small to fit on the wide metal skewers. 

Pour some of the cooled saffron water over the chicken and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then finish seasoning the chicken with lemon juice, yogurt, olive oil, black pepper, salt, turmeric, saffron powder, minced garlic and sliced white onion. Marinate at least 3-4 hours. 

While the chicken is marinating, make the sumac aioli sauce by combining mayo, yogurt, garlic cloves, sumac, dried mint, saffron powder, lemon juice and salt. Blend using an immersion blender and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the sauce flavours marinate together. 

Line the chicken on skewers making sure the chicken is mostly flat. Sprinkle the chicken skewers with a little more salt at this point if desired. 

To make the saffron lemon butter, combine melted butter with saffron water, lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Preheat the bbq for 10 minutes and grill chicken 7-8 minutes per side until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165. Brush the chicken skewers with saffron lemon butter on each side before and after flipping. 

Once chicken is cooked, transfer to a tray lined with aluminum foil and brush with more saffron lemon butter to finish.

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Top 4 persian chicken recipes from across the web

The most viewed persian chicken recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Persian Chicken Recipe

Persian Chicken (Zereshk Polo Ba Mo...

Persian Chicken Recipe

Joojeh Kabob (Persian chicken skewe...

The most viewed persian chicken recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine