Riz a Djej (Lebanese Chicken and Spiced Rice with Mince and Nuts)
رز بالدجاج (لبنانی مرغی اور قیمے، میووں والے مصالحے دار چاول)
Riz a djej (rice with chicken) is the dish Lebanese families make for Eid, birthdays and big Sunday lunches. Chicken is simmered into a fragrant , and the rice is cooked in that stock with *hashweh*, minced meat fried with warm spices like , cinnamon and allspice. The rice is piled on a platter, topped with the tender shredded chicken and showered with golden fried nuts. For Pakistani readers, it's somewhere between a yakhni pulao and a keema pulao, with Levantine spices.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 40 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 1 hr 20 min
- Medium
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Simmer the chicken with the onion, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, 1½ tsp salt and the water for 45 minutes, skimming, until tender. Lift out the chicken, strain and keep the stock. Shred the chicken, discarding skin and bones.
In the empty pot, melt 2 tbsp butter and fry the mince with the baharat, pepper and remaining salt for 8–10 minutes until browned and crumbly (this is the hashweh).
Add the drained rice and stir for 2 minutes to coat. Add 3 cups of hot stock, bring to a boil, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 18–20 minutes until the rice is tender.
Meanwhile, fry the almonds, pine nuts and cashews in the remaining butter until golden. Warm the shredded chicken in a little stock.
Pile the rice on a platter, top with the chicken and scatter with the nuts. Serve with yogurt and salad.
Kitchen notes
Keep the extra stock: it's lovely as a soup, or for loosening leftover rice when reheating.
For a quicker version, use a rotisserie chicken and ready-made stock.
Fry each kind of nut separately if you can; they brown at different speeds.
A Lebanese celebration dish
Riz a djej (also riz bi djej or hashweh) is served at Lebanese and Syrian family gatherings, especially Eid and Christmas, and at weddings. A large platter of spiced rice crowned with chicken and golden nuts is a sign of generosity, and every family has its own spice mix.
Two flavours of rice
The rice gets its flavour from two sources: the chicken stock it cooks in, and the hashweh, mince fried with warm spices. Allspice and cinnamon give the rice its characteristic sweet-warm Levantine taste, quite different from the chilli and garam masala of a South Asian pulao.
The nut topping
Golden fried almonds, pine nuts and cashews are the crowning touch. Fry them gently in butter and watch them, as they go from golden to burnt quickly.
Serving
Serve with plain yogurt or cacık, a fresh salad like fattoush, and lemon wedges. For another festive rice dish, try maqluba or kabsa.
Questions people ask
Can I make it without the mince?
Yes. Fry the rice in butter with the spices and cook it in the stock; it will still be fragrant.
What is hashweh?
Hashweh means 'stuffing': spiced minced meat cooked with rice, used to stuff vegetables and chicken, or served as a rice dish on its own.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 640
- Protein
- 42 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
