Musakhan chicken rolls

Musakhan rolls are onion and sumac flavoured chicken rolled up in fine 'marqooq' bread, famous in Palestine and the Levant region.

They are so light and crispy you will find yourself eating 3 or 4 without realizing.

I would easily make these for a dinner party or guests they are so impressive and are loved by young and old.

You might also like my famous meat rolls (rekakat lahme) or my 7-spice and sumac chicken.

Ingredients

The main flavours of musakhan are sumac, olive oil and onions. The other spices complement these flavours and shouldn't overpower.

I like to roast my chicken although some people like to boil it then put it in the oven, although I feel roast chicken is just as juicy.

When buying sumac try and find vibrant dark red sumac and avoid brown sumac as that is old.

Even better ask your Lebanese or Palestinian friend if they can source some for you.

The onions add sweetness and texture, so sauté these first in lots of mild olive oil suitable for cooking and then add the chicken and spices.

Marqooq bread is a special type of ultra thin flatbread, made usually using whole wheat flour.

You can usually find this bread in Middle Eastern supermarkets, and possibly online.

I don't really know if there is a similar substitution to this bread, the closest I can think of is filo pastry but then you have to deep fry the musakhan rolls, which actually works too.

Instructions

Once you roast the chicken it's pretty straightforward to make the musakhan mixture and roll them up:

Step 1: Roast a chicken and shred the flesh, set aside

Step 2: Sauté 3 onions until golden

Step 3: add the shredded chicken to the onions, season well

Step 4: roll up in 'marqooq' bread, brush with olive oil and sumac and bake for around 10 minutes until crispy

Top Tips

I add the same spices I used in the marinade to the onions and shredded chicken but in smaller quantities.

As the onions are sweet, we can use some earthier spices such as cardamom, black pepper and cinnamon.

I wouldn't really freeze marqooq bread as it will be soggy when you take them out so if you do have leftover filling, freeze that and then defrost to roll when you want the next batch.

Try and bake the marqooq no less than half an hour before you want to serve as they can become dry if left out too long.

Marqooq bread comes with a thick 'rind' on the edges and I peel that away gently not taking away too much of the bread, then divide it into quarters as they are usually large in size.

Finally when rolling the musakhan you don't want to squeeze too tight as they are more cigar shaped than thin rolls, and have lots of filling inside.

📖 Recipe

Print

Musakhan chicken rolls

Sumac onion spiced roast chicken baked in marqooq bread

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Palestinian

Keyword Authentic, Chicken, Healthy, Traditional

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 6

Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade

• 1 chicken skin on & quartered
• 1 teaspoon 7 spice
• 2 teaspoon sumac
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt approx

For the musakhan mixture

• 3 large onions sliced into ribbons
• mild olive oil for cooking approx ½ cup
• 1 pack 'marqooq bread'
• sumac and extra virgin olive oil for brushing

Instructions

To prepare the chicken

1. In a large bowl add the marinade spices (7 spice, sumac, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper and salt) with a drizzle of mild olive oil. Stir well and rub the marinade into the chicken, including under the skin. Leave to marinade at least 4 hours ideally overnight
2. When you are ready to roast the chicken, transfer to a baking tray and roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes on 180°C (350°F), turning the chicken every 20 minutes or so until golden
3. When the chicken has slightly cooled, shred the flesh and set aside.

To make the musakhan mixture

1. In a wide stainless steel pan, add the mild olive oil and sauté on medium high heat until golden. This might take 20-30 minutes
2. When the onions have a good colour, add the shredded chicken and a pinch (¼ tsp) of 7 spice, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and ½ a teaspoon of sumac and 7 spice, along with a good sprinkle of salt (approx ½ tsp)

3. Sauté the chicken with a onions for about 5-10 minutes on low heat and taste to adjust the seasoning if necessary. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil if dry before turning off the heat

To make the musakhan rolls

1. Remove the thick 'rind' of the marqooq bread and cut into quarters. Add around 2 tablespoons of musakhan mixture, then turn in the sides and roll up into cigar shapes. Add the rolls to a baking tray

2. When you have rolled the musakhan, brush the rolls with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle a little sumac. Bake in the oven on 180°C (350°F) for around ten minutes until golden and crispy.

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Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this chicken recipe: