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Hareesa with butter

Hareesa (Chicken wheat porridge)

Slow cooked wheat with chicken and topped with cinnamon and brown butter.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword Comfort food, Healthy, Slow cooking
Cook Time 5 hours
Servings 15
Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

  • 1 kg peeled wheat kernels
  • 1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 2 kg quartered chickens approx 2 medium chickens
  • 2 onions
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 10-20 peppercorns
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 5-10 cloves
  • boiling water as needed
  • 1 tablespoon salt approx
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup butter

Instructions

To prepare the wheat

  1. The day before, sift through the wheat kernels for any random pieces and wash several times, before adding the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  2. On the day of cooking, wash several times, drain and set aside

To make the chicken stock

  1. In a large pot add the chicken, aromatics (bay leaves, cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom) with the onion and carrot, along with boiling water to cover approx 4 litres

  2. Bring to the boil, skim off any surface foam and then simmer for one hour on low heat

  3. After an hour, drain the liquid through a fine sieve and set aside. Shred the chicken off the bone and also set aside

To make the hareesa

  1. In another very large pot, add the chicken stock to the wheat kernels to cover and bring to the boil, simmer for another three and a half hours on low heat, stirring every so often to prevent the wheat sticking to the bottom

  2. Add approximately 1.5 tablespoons of salt, and add more stock or boiling water to the wheat if it becomes too thick

  3. After three hours and a half of cooking the wheat, add the chicken and beat well with the wheat for another 30 minutes using a large wooden spoon to cream the hareesa together

  4. In a small pan, melt the butter on low heat until it begins to brown and foam

  5. Taste to see if the wheat is well cooked, and adjust salt if necessary

  6. Just before you turn off the heat, sprinkle on the ground cinnamon and nutmeg along with the melted browned butter

  7. Serve immediately, and top with more browned butter if desired.

Recipe Video