Musakhan Rolls (Sumac Chicken)
A delightful combination of tender chicken, caramelized onions, and warm spices wrapped in a soft flatbread.
Servings: 24 rolls
Calories: 86.53kcal
Ingredients
For the chicken broth:
- 450-500 grams boneless chicken thighs (see notes)
- ½ small red onion halved
- 2 bay leaf
- 5 black peppercorns
- 2 cloves
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup water
For musakhan filling:
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 medium-sized red onions sliced thinly
- 3 to 4 tablespoon sumac
- ¾ teaspoon Arabic spice mix (see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ cup chicken stock or broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoon pine nuts toasted
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped finely
For rolls
- 1 pack marqooq bread (see notes)
Instructions
Cook chicken:
- Add the chicken thighs, whole spices, garlic and half an onion with enough water into the Instant Pot’s pot. Pressure-cook for 8 to 10 minutes. I used the pre-set Soup/Broth button.450-500 grams boneless chicken thighs, ½ small red onion, 2 bay leaf, 5 black peppercorns, 2 cloves, 1 garlic clove, 1 cup water
- When done, wait for 5 minutes and then Quick-Release the pressure. Open and remove the chicken and keep it aside. Strain the broth and keep it aside for later. You can opt to cook on a stove in a medium-sized stew pot or pressure cooker. (see notes)
- Use your hands to shred the chicken and keep it aside.
Prepare musakhan filling:
- Heat a shallow pan with olive oil. Add the sliced onions and saute until they turn pink.⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 to 3 medium-sized red onions
- Add a tablespoon of sumac, spices and the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.3 to 4 tbsp sumac, ¾ tsp Arabic spice mix, ¼ tsp cinnamon powder, Salt and pepper to taste
- Add the remaining sumac, ½ cup of broth, and olive oil. Taste and adjust the salt and cook until the broth is absorbed. Switch off.½ cup chicken stock
- Stir in the toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley leaves. You can make this filling a day ahead and keep in the fridge.2-3 tbsp pine nuts, ¼ cup fresh parsley
Cut the flatbread:
- Cut the round flatbread into wedges, much like slicing a pizza. Start by folding it in half to create a half-moon shape. Next, use scissors to cut along the folded edge.1 pack marqooq bread
- Then, re-fold the half-moon once more to form a quarter-circle and cut along the fold.
- Finally, re-fold it in half again and cut it to create a stack of triangle-shaped pieces.
Make the rolls:
- Take a cut piece of bread and place a tablespoon of the sumac chicken in the wide end of the bread. Bring the two edges inside and start rolling towards the pointed end. You do not have to seal these rolls. Place them in a greased oven-friendly pan seam side down.
- Repeat until the sumac chicken is used up. At this point, you can cling wrap and refrigerate the pan to bake the next day. You can also freeze some of the rolls for up to a month. Store any remaining flatbread in a tight plastic bag in the freezer.
Bake the rolls:
- Preheat the oven to 220℃. Brush the top surface of the rolls lightly with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes or until the rolls turn golden and crispy. You do not have to turn or flip the rolls.
- Remove from oven and serve warm with plain or salted yoghurt and any green salad.
Notes
If baking frozen musakhan rolls, you don’t have to thaw. Increase the baking time and just bake until the top is golden brown.
If baking a refrigerated pan of musakhan rolls, make sure you bring it to room temperature before you place the pan in the hot oven. Or, transfer the rolls to another oven-friendly dish and bake.
boneless chicken thighs: You can use bone-in chicken or a 600g whole chicken quartered.
Arabic spice mix: You can use any Middle Eastern ground spice blend like Lebanese 7 spice or baharat, etc.
marqooq bread: Try to find thin flatbreads like saj or shrak. You may use a tortilla.
Lemon juice: If you don't have enough sumac, you can always add some lemon juice to make up for the tangy taste.
Quantity: I made 24 rolls and each roll was about 3 inches. These are best to serve as appetizers for a crowd. You can make fewer and larger rolls depending on your needs.
Nutrition
Serving: 1roll | Calories: 86.53kcal | Carbohydrates: 3.22g | Protein: 5.19g | Fat: 5.91g
