Applema Chicken

Ingredients

• 1200 grams chicken thighs
• 200 grams pearl onions, small onions
• 300 grams American rice
• 50 grams vermicelli
• 50 grams pine nuts or peeled, chopped almonds
• Lemon juice, to taste
• 100 grams or more, as needed, ghee
• 50 grams flour, or as needed
• 1 1/2 to 2 liters water or chicken stock for boiling the chicken
• Flour for coating the chicken
• Oil, as needed
• Salt
• White pepper
• Garlic seasoning or garlic powder
• Onion seasoning or onion powder
• Cinnamon stick
• Bay leaf
• Small strip of lemon peel
• Rice method:
• Stir the vermicelli in oil until lightly golden
• This new recipe is from the friend and chef behind the Shou Tabkhin Today site:
• Hanadi Al-Ayyas
• Click on Hanadi's name to visit her profile on our site and discover her delicious recipes
• Try also Qawarma and Chickpea Pies by Hanadi
• For more delicious recipes from Hanadi, here is Lentil Mutabbal

Method

1. Fry the pine nuts or almonds in oil until lightly browned and set them aside on kitchen paper to absorb the oil
2. In the same pot, add a little ghee and fry the small onions until they are lightly browned and golden
3. Drain them and set aside
4. Cut the chicken thighs and season them with salt, white pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, then coat them in flour on all sides
5. In the same pot add a little ghee and place the chicken pieces, turning them on all sides until colored
6. Remove them from the pot
7. If the ghee in the pot is too little, add a little butter. When the butter melts, add 50 g of flour (or an amount equal to the fat in the pot) and stir until the flour turns pale
8. Gradually add chicken stock or plain water, whisking to prevent lumps in the flour
9. After adding all the stock or water, add the chicken pieces and the previously fried small onions, add a bay leaf and a cinnamon stick, cover the pot and let them simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked, stirring occasionally
10. Then add a pinch of salt, a pinch of white pepper, a pinch of garlic powder, and a pinch of onion powder (to taste, since the chicken is already seasoned)
11. Finally add the almonds or pine nuts and the lemon juice, and let Applema chicken simmer for just a few seconds before turning off the heat
12. Serve Applema chicken with rice and vermicelli
13. Fry the vermicelli in oil until lightly browned
14. Add the rice (soaked for 10 minutes and rinsed four to five times) and stir the rice with the vermicelli, then add twice the volume of rice in hot water with a pinch of salt, a pinch of white pepper, a lemon peel, a cinnamon stick, and a bay leaf
15. Stir the rice a little, and when the water boils reduce the heat and cover the pot, leaving the rice to cook until done
16. Transfer the rice with vermicelli to serve alongside Applema chicken with the sauce hot, after garnishing with the fried almonds or pine nuts
17. Hanadi Al-Ayas
18. Also try Hanadi's kawarma and chickpea pies
19. For more of Hanadi's delicious recipes, here's her seasoned lentils (mutabbal) recipe.