Musakhan - Sumac Chicken is a traditional Palestinian dish made with marinated chicken legs served over a flatbread with red onions, sumac, and pine nuts. It is extremely easy to make with everyday ingredients you might already have in your fridge/pantry.
Ready in just one hour, this delicious and juicy sumac chicken dish is perfect for a weekday meal or for family gatherings.
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The recipe for Musakhan - Sumac Chicken might vary depending on the region. Most of the versions caramelize the onions separately and serve them on a flatbread called "taboon" along with roasted chicken and sautéed pine nuts.
To simplify the cooking process and end up with less washing up, I roast the chicken pieces on top of the sliced onions.
To give them a bit of caramelization, I spread the onions on top of the chicken pieces for 10 minutes at the end of the cooking time.
The result is extremely delicious, and juicy chicken pieces with crispy skin and nicely caramelized onions.
What is Musakhan?
Musakhan is a popular chicken dish served on a taboon bread with caramelized onions, sumac, and sautéed pine nuts. The star ingredient is sumac, which gives a unique citrusy flavor to this dish.
Sumac is a popular ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking and I use it in my many recipes such as Tantuni and Fasulye Piyaz (Turkish Bean Salad).
Musakhan is a very simple dish made with everyday ingredients. Therefore, it is a very popular dish in Palestine and most Middle Eastern countries.
The traditional way to eat this delicious sumac chicken dish is to eat it with your hands.
Musakhan was traditionally made around the olive oil pressing season when fresh oil could be incorporated into the dish.
The onions were typically braised in a generous amount of olive oil, a very similar method for cooking Turkish Zeytinyagli dishes such as Imam Bayildi (Turkish Stuffed Eggplant) and Mediterranean Green Beans (Taze Fasulye).
Why This Recipe Works?
- It is surprisingly easy to make this delicious Sumac Chicken dish with simple everyday ingredients.
- You don't need to caramelize the onions separately, simply bake the marinated chicken pieces on a bed of sliced onions.
- The leftover Musakhan is great for making wraps or shredding on salads.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Chicken - I prefer using skin-on and bone-in chicken thighs. You can also use chicken legs or drumsticks if you prefer.
- Bread - Traditionally, Musakhan is served over taboon bread. However, you can use any flatbread such as Greek Pita Bread, Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread, and Pakistani Roghni Naan.
- Sumac - It is a popular spice in Middle Eastern and Turkish cooking. It is a versatile seasoning that adds bright red color and tartness to a dish. You can buy it from the majority of large supermarkets as well as online from Amazon.
- Onions - I use thinly sliced red onions to intensify the red color of the dish. However, you can use brown or yellow onions if you prefer.
- Pine nuts - Toasted pine nuts in olive oil level up this recipe. You can substitute them with almonds if you don’t have pine nuts.
- Oil - I use good quality olive oil to achieve the best flavor.
- Spices - I prefer adding allspice, cinnamon, cumin, salt, black pepper, and sumac to the chicken marinade.
- Garlic - It is a great flavoring for marinating the chicken. You can turn it into a paste with a mortar and pestle or grate it with a Microplane.
How to Make Musakhan?
Making this delicious Sumac Chicken dish is very simple and straightforward. However, to achieve the best results you need to follow a few tips and simple steps:
Marinate the Chicken
To make the marinade, mix together freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, garlic, cumin, allspice, cinnamon powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.
Add the chicken pieces into the bowl and cover them with marinade, making sure all of them are nicely coated.
Cover the bowl and let it marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight. Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 24 hours!
Cook the Chicken and Onions
Preheat the oven to 180° C (360° F).
Peel and thinly slice the red onions, and spread them evenly on the bottom of your baking dish.
Place the marinated chicken pieces over the red onions on a single layer, without overlapping each other.
Bake them for 40 minutes, remove the dish from the oven, and flip the onions on top of the chicken pieces to give them some caramelization. Bake them for another 10 - 15 minutes.
Assemble the Musakhan
Once the chicken is done, let it rest lightly covered with foil while preparing the flatbread.
Reheat the bread pieces either using a skillet on the stovetop or baking it in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes.
Lightly toast the pine nuts with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Arrange the flatbread on a plate, and top it with the caramelized onions, chicken pieces, and toasted pine nuts.
Sprinkle on extra sumac and chopped parsley, and serve with lemon wedges and salad on the side.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe!
Top Tips From the Chef
- For a delicious and juicy Musakhan dish, use skin-on, and bone-in chicken pieces such as legs, drumsticks, or thighs.
- Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 2 hours if you have time. Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 24 hours!
- You can turn your Musakhan dish into Musakhan Wraps to make it easier to eat. Simply shred the chicken and place it onto flatbread along with some onions, pinenuts, salad, and a drizzle of yogurt. Roll it nice and tight and serve!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can marinate the chicken for up to 24 hours ahead and keep them refrigerated until you need them.
The leftovers would keep refrigerated for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container. You can freeze them and keep them for up to 3 months if you want to keep them for longer.
I don't recommend using chicken breast but you can use them if you prefer so. Bear in mind that the chicken breast won't be as juicy as the legs.
Related Recipes
For more delicious and authentic Middle Eastern recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious and unique Musakhan - Sumac Chicken dish as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Musakhan - Sumac Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
For Marinating the Chicken
- 1 kg chicken thighs or legs (bone-in skin-on)
- 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon good quality olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon sumac
- 4 cloves garlic (turned into paste or grated)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Musakhan - Sumac Chicken
- 3 large red onions (thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 4 taboon, naan, or pita bread
- 4 tablespoon Greek yogurt or plain natural yogurt (optional)
Instructions
Marinating the Chicken
- To make the marinade, mix together freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, garlic, cumin, allspice, cinnamon powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.
- Add the chicken pieces into the bowl and cover them with marinade, making sure all of them are nicely coated.
- Cover the bowl and let it marinate for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight. Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 24 hours!
Cooking the Chicken and Onions
- Preheat the oven to 180° C (360° F).
- Peel and thinly slice the red onions, and spread them evenly on the bottom of your baking dish.
- Place the marinated chicken pieces over the red onions on a single layer, without overlapping each other.
- Bake them for 40 minutes, remove the dish from the oven, and flip the onions on top of the chicken pieces to give them some caramelization. Bake them for another 10 - 15 minutes.
Assembling the Musakhan
- Once the chicken is done, let it rest lightly covered with foil while preparing the flatbread.
- Reheat the bread pieces either using a skillet on the stovetop or baking it in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Lightly toast the pinenuts with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Arrange the flatbread on a plate, and top it with the caramelized onions, chicken pieces, and toasted pine nuts.
- Sprinkle on extra sumac and chopped parsley, and serve with lemon wedges and salad on the side.
Notes
- For a delicious and juicy Musakhan dish, use skin-on, and bone-in chicken pieces such as legs, drumsticks, or thighs.
- Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 2 hours if you have time. <em>Don't let the chicken marinate for more than 24 hours!
- You can turn your Musakhan dish into <strong>Musakhan Wraps</strong> to make it easier to eat. Simply shred the chicken and place it onto flatbread along with some onions, pinenuts, salad, and a drizzle of yogurt. Roll it nice and tight and serve!
Nutrition
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