A chicken version of my popular Daoud Basha stew with the same gusto of meatballs, potatoes and peppers in tangy-sweet tomato sauce is best served with buttery vermicelli rice. I thoroughly enjoyed making Dawood Basha several times since Ramadan and so you will find pictures of different attempts. Hope you will enjoy this recipe and share your comments.
Ever since I shared the ground beef Daoud Basha recipe, I have received a few requests for a chicken version. The original recipe is a keeper and has blessed me with great blog traffic, especially via Pinterest. If you are new here, then Dawood Basha aka Daoud Basha is a popular Levantine meatballs stew with potatoes and peppers simmered in a tangy-sweet tomato sauce flavoured with pomegranate molasses.
I won't get into too many details about the ingredients and dish as I have already shared in the original post. I learnt that there are a few versions of Daoud Basha like Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese and they differ mostly in the spices used. Tested with few of the spices and loved the addition of cumin. You may replace the allspice and cinnamon with your favourite Arabic spice mixes like 7 spices or Baharat etc. for a different flavour.
I have always served Daoud basha with white rice but recently started making vermicelli rice and I must say it doesn't matter! Dawood basha with vermicelli rice is traditional and looks great together but you can always serve with just plain white rice too.
How to make?
Add the chicken meatballs ingredients into a food processer or grinder mixie jar
and process until the mixture comes together.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl and make 15 to 20 equal-sized balls. You may make smaller meatballs for more. For ease, wet your hands between making each meatball.
Heat olive oil in a saucepot and place the meatballs without crowding the pan. You can do it in batches so it is easy to stir and sear evenly.
Make sure all meatballs are browned. Remove the meatballs and keep them aside.
Add more olive oil to the same pan. Pan-fry the potato chunks until browned on all sides. Remove and keep them aside.
Next, add the chopped red bell pepper and roast until charred edges. Remove and keep them aside.
Heat more olive oil in the same pan. Saute the finely chopped onions and garlic. Add the spice powders along with some salt and saute for few minutes. Stir in the pureed tomatoes, tomato paste and pomegranate molasses. Bring the sauce to a full boil.
Place the seared chicken meatballs carefully in a single layer. Pour enough water to partially submerge the meatballs. Cover and cook on low flame for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce starts to thicken.
Stir in the fried potatoes and bell peppers. Taste and adjust the spices and salt. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Garnish with parsley leaves. Serve hot Dawood basha with boiled white rice or vermicelli rice.
📖 Recipe
Dawood Basha with Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the chicken meatballs
- 500 grams boneless chicken thighs cut into smaller pieces
- 1 medium onion diced finely
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 to 3 green chilli slit and chopped
- fresh parsley chopped
- ½ tablespoon allspice powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder or cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil or any cooking oil to sear
For pan-frying
- Olive oil
- 1 large potato chopped into large chunks
- 1 bell pepper any colour, chopped into large cubes
For the Tomato Pomegranate Molasses Sauce
- 1 medium onion diced finely
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ tablespoon allspice powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 300 grams tomatoes pureed or chopped finely (2 large)
- 1½ tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- water as required
- Salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley
Instructions
Prepare the chicken meatballs
- Add the chicken meatballs ingredients into a food processor or grinder mixie jar and process until the mixture comes together. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and make 15 to 20 equal-sized balls. You may make smaller meatballs for more. For ease, wet your hands between making each meatball.
Sear the chicken meatballs
- Heat olive oil in a saucepot and place the meatballs without crowding the pan. You can do it in batches so it is easy to stir and sear evenly. Make sure all meatballs are browned. Remove the meatballs and keep them aside.
Roast the potatoes and red bell pepper
- Add more olive oil to the same pan. Pan-fry the potato chunks until browned on all sides. Remove and keep them aside. Next, add the chopped red bell pepper and roast until charred edges. Remove and keep them aside.
Prepare the Tomatoes
- Purée the tomatoes and keep them ready for sauce or feel free to use them as finely chopped tomatoes. You may also process some of the roasted bell pepper along with the tomatoes for added flavour and colour. This works well if you are using red bell pepper, avoid if using green.
Prepare the sauce
- Heat more olive oil in the same pan. Saute the finely chopped onions and garlic. Add the spice powders along with some salt and saute for few minutes. Stir in the pureed tomatoes, tomato paste and pomegranate molasses. Bring the sauce to a full boil.
Prepare Dawood basha
- Place all the seared chicken meatballs carefully in a single layer. Pour enough water to partially submerge the meatballs. Cover and cook on low flame for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce starts to thicken. Stir in the fried potatoes and bell peppers. Taste and adjust the spices and salt. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and sauce reaches your desired consistency. Transfer to the serving bowl and garnish with parsley leaves. Serve hot Dawood basha with boiled white rice or vermicelli rice. (recipe coming soon!) Refrigerate or freeze any leftover Dawood basha in an airtight box.
Nammi says
Yumm....
Inde Bohemian says
Omg I tried this and its amazing , the first time i made meat balls and they were juicy , ate 4 of them just like that and love trying this recipie 🙂