Musakhan (Palestinian Sumac Chicken and Onions on Taboon Bread)
مسخن (فلسطین کی سماق والی مرغی اور پیاز، تابون روٹی پر)
Musakhan is the dish Palestinians cook to celebrate the olive harvest: chicken roasted with and allspice, laid on taboon flatbread spread with a thick layer of onions slowly cooked in fresh olive oil and more sumac, then scattered with toasted pine nuts. The onions soak into the bread and turn sweet, tangy and deep purple-red. It's rich, generous food meant to be shared and eaten by hand. A heavy hand with good olive oil and sumac is essential.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 35 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 1 hr 15 min
- Medium
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Rub the chicken with 1 tbsp sumac, the allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, 1 tsp salt, the lemon juice and 2 tbsp olive oil. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
Roast the chicken at 200°C for 40–45 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Meanwhile, cook the onions in the remaining olive oil with 1 tsp salt on medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes, stirring often, until very soft, sweet and lightly golden. Stir in the remaining sumac. Fry the pine nuts in a little oil until golden.
Brush the breads with the onion oil and spread each thickly with the sumac onions. Put a piece of chicken on top and bake for 5–8 minutes until the bread edges crisp.
Scatter with pine nuts, parsley and a final pinch of sumac, drizzle with olive oil and serve with yogurt and salad.
Kitchen notes
Don't rush the onions: slow cooking turns them sweet. They should be soft and golden, not crisp or dark.
Sumac is sold in Middle Eastern and Turkish shops. It gives a lemony tang and a deep red colour.
For musakhan rolls, shred the chicken, mix with the onions and roll up in thin bread; then bake until crisp. They're a popular party snack.
A dish for the olive harvest
In Palestine, the autumn olive harvest is a family event, and musakhan was traditionally made to taste the new season’s oil. Fresh taboon bread, baked on hot stones in a clay oven, is soaked in that oil and covered with onions and sumac. Today it’s considered Palestine’s national dish and is cooked for gatherings all year.
Sumac
is made from dried, crushed red berries. It’s sour and fruity rather than spicy, and it colours the onions a beautiful deep red. It’s used across the Arab world and Turkey on salads, kebabs and rice.
Slow onions
The heart of musakhan is the onions. Five onions sound like a lot, but they cook down to a soft, sweet, jammy layer. Low heat and patience matter more than anything else in this recipe.
Serving
Serve on a large platter, with plain yogurt, a chopped salad and olives. Musakhan is eaten with the hands, tearing bread, onions and chicken together. For another Levantine centrepiece, try maqluba.
Questions people ask
What bread should I use?
Traditionally taboon bread, baked on hot stones. Thick pita, large naan or any soft flatbread works.
Is that much olive oil necessary?
It's a rich dish by tradition, made to celebrate the new olive oil. You can use less, but the onions need enough oil to cook slowly without catching.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 780
- Protein
- 45 g
- Fat
- 44 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
