Okay, you’ve had halal chicken rice bowls, but have you had halal cart chicken made in one pan? I didn’t think so. And yes! You read that correctly. This is a one-pot chicken over rice recipe. Not only does my homemade version of chicken over rice taste like Halal Guys, but it is also an easy recipe that doesn’t require a ton of clean-up. Marinate the chicken thighs, with coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, allspice, sumac, and hot paprika with lemon juice and olive oil. Pan-sear the chicken over medium-high heat before you remove it to a plate. Then add a knob of butter to the same skillet and saute the rice with onions and peppers before simmering it in chicken broth. Cooking the rice in the same pot as the chicken gives the rice soo much more flavor! When the rice is fluffy and cooked through, serve the chicken sliced or diced on top with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and an abundance of white sauce and red sauce. I’m telling you, with these flavors you’ll bring that famous NYC food cart right into your own home!
Ingredients for Halal Chicken Rice Bowls:
Seasonings! seasonings are the heart and soul of this recipe. You’ll need ground cardamom, allspice, cumin, coriander, hot paprika, turmeric, dried oregano, sumac, adobo seasoning, and kosher salt. The good news is that most of these ingredients are pretty simple to find in most grocery stores. The only one you may have a little trouble with is sumac, which is available online here or at your nearest Middle Eastern grocery store. Sumac powder is a dry red berry that is ground into a coarse powder.Boneless, skinless chicken: You can use chicken thighs, tenders, or breasts for this dish. If you use chicken breasts, I do suggest chopping them up a bit before marinating so that all the chicken absorbs the flavor.Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed works best.Olive oil: Is an ingredient added to the chicken marinade. You won’t need to add any more when you’re searing the chicken.Fresh garlic: I use my favorite garlic press to press a few cloves right into the marinade for this chicken.Butter: saute the rice, onions, and peppers in butter to create the famous new york city yellow rice. Basmati Rice: use good-quality long-grain basmati rice for this recipe. Keep in mind that you want to rinse the rice under cold running water and drain it before you toast the rice for the yellow rice pilaf. Minced Onions: saute the onions in butter along with the rice and minced peppers for more flavor.Minced peppers: I like to use a serrano pepper with the ribs and seeds removed. Feel free to use a jalapeño pepper instead. You can also omit this entirely, although, rest assured, with the ribs and seeds removed, the rice isn’t spicy.Chicken Broth: I suggest using a low sodium chicken broth for this recipe. Since we’re seasoning the rice with adobo seasoning (which contains salt, black pepper, added turmeric, etc) low sodium broth works best.Prepared White sauce and hot sauce: I make my own white sauce using ingredients like sour cream, mayo, white vinegar, parsley, and black pepper. The full recipe can be found here. For the hot sauce, I typically like to use a squeeze of sriracha or a dollop of this chili garlic sauce.
How to make the best halal chicken rice bowls:
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Lebanese Fattoush SaladLebanese Meat Stuffed PitaMost Delicious Homemade Shawarma SeasoningBeef Shawarma (2 Ways!)Shirazi Salad (Salad-e Shirazi)
cilantro: I topped my bowl for pictures with some chopped cilantro for a bit more color!
