Perfect choice! 🇱🇧✨ Lebanese Chicken and Rice (Riz bi Djej / Roz a Djej) is a comforting, fragrant, and traditional Middle Eastern dish often made for family gatherings. It combines spiced rice, tender shredded chicken, and toasted nuts — all layered into one beautiful dish. Here’s a detailed recipe:

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🍗 Lebanese Chicken and Rice (Riz bi Djej)

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 whole chicken (about 3–3.5 lbs) or 4 bone-in chicken breasts/thighs
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 5–6 whole peppercorns
• 2–3 whole cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon
• Salt, to taste

For the Rice

• 2 cups basmati or long-grain rice, rinsed and soaked 20 minutes
• 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
• 3 ½ cups chicken broth (reserved from cooking the chicken)

For Garnish

• ½ cup toasted almonds or pine nuts
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Cook the Chicken

1. Place chicken, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon stick, and salt in a large pot.
2. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim off foam, then reduce heat and simmer for 45–50 minutes, until chicken is tender.
3. Remove chicken, strain broth, and set both aside. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces.

2. Cook the Spiced Rice

1. Heat olive oil/butter in a large pot.
2. Add onion and sauté until soft and golden.
3. Stir in rice and spices (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, salt) and toast for 1–2 minutes.
4. Add 3 ½ cups of the reserved chicken broth.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 15–18 minutes, until rice is fluffy.

3. Assemble the Dish

1. Fluff rice with a fork and layer it onto a serving platter.
2. Top with shredded chicken.
3. Sprinkle toasted almonds/pine nuts generously over the top.
4. Garnish with parsley.

4. Serve

• Serve warm with a side of yogurt, cucumber salad, or a simple Lebanese salad (like fattoush or tabbouleh).

🌟 Tips & Variations

• More flavor in chicken: Rub chicken with spices (cinnamon, allspice, salt, pepper) before boiling for extra depth.
• Shortcut: Use rotisserie chicken and make the rice with store-bought broth.
• Rich version: Fry chicken pieces after boiling for a crispy, golden finish before serving.

Would you like me to also share the Lebanese yogurt-cucumber sauce (Laban bi Khiar) that’s traditionally served with this dish?

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