Jaj Mahshi (Rice Stuffed Chicken)

A standout dish that yields succulent chicken and aromatic rice making it a wonderful crowd-pleasing meal.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 3lb Chickens (cleaned and patted dry)
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• 1 Lemon's juice
• 1 tbsp 7 spice
• 1 tbsp All-purpose poultry seasoning
• 2 tsp Smoked paprika
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• Salt and pepper to taste (2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper is my go-to)
• 1 cup Basmati rice
• 1/2 lb Ground beef
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp 7 spice, divided
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1.5 cups Water or stock
• 1/3 cup Toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1First, marinate your chicken to give it as much time as possible to soak in those flavors. I typically clean, pat dry, and marinate my chicken the night before.
2. 2For the marinade, combine all the spices listed above with the olive oil and lemon juice. You can always adjust by adding more olive if the paste is too thick or a tad more seasonings to make it more paste-like.
3. 3Rub the marinade onto the chickens exterior as well as interior and under the skin. Make sure to do so well to disperse all that wonderful flavor.
4. 4Let this marinate and work on the Hashweh (rice and meat filling).
5. 5Add the olive oil and onions to a pot and cook until transluscent before adding in the ground beef. Make sure to break down the beef until it is fine. You don't want chunks of it for this recipe.
6. 6Season this with 1/2 tbsp seven spice, salt and pepper. Stir and once cooked through-set aside.
7. 7For the rinsed rice, season it with the remaining 1/2 tbsp 7 spice, along with salt and pepper as well. Stir together then add this to the meat mixture in the pot along with the ghee.
8. 8Stir together and add water or stock. Bring to a light boil then cover and simmer for roughly 15 minutes until cooked through a little over 3/4 of the way. You want it to still have a slight chew as it will cointiue to cook later on.
9. 9Once the stuffing is ready and slightly cooled, gently fold in the toasted nuts to complete the filling for the chicken.
10. 10Grab the marinated chicken and into the cavity start stuffing it with the cooked rice until it full. You can fold the skin over the cavity and shut with a toothpick or skewer initially to help the rice stay put and remove this in the cooking process or after.
11. 11Add the stuffed chicken's to a baking dish and place 1 cup of water at the bottom of the dish. This will keep the chicken moist.
12. 12Cover the chicken in parchment paper then cover the entire baking dish in aluminum foil.
13. 13Place in a 450 F oven for 1 hour then bring the temperature down to 400 F for another hour. Check the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest part. It needs to read at aleast 165 F for it to be cooked through. Once cooked through, take off the foil and let it broil for a few minutes to achieve a caramelized color.
14. 14Add the chicken to a serving platter and feel free to dress it up with lemon slices, pomegrante pieces, and a garnish of aprsley if you would like. This meal is best served with salad and yogurt. Enjoy!