Syrian Hushwee (Rice with Chicken)

Hushweet jaj is a classic Syrian recipe; .It is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine as a humble, flavor-packed dish. Hushwee means (stuffing). It is the foundation of many classic Syrian dishes such as stuffed Eggplant, sfeehas (Syrian Meat Pies) or shishbarak. At Christmas, we stuff the turkey with Hushwee and also we love to eat it on top of mashed potatoes with gravy.

Hushweet jaj is a ground beef mixture with long grain rice. It is cooked in ghee and seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice then topped with shredded chicken and toasted pine nuts.

Serve it with a Syrian Green Salad or cucumber yogurt with dried mint, garlic.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon ghee

1 medium onion diced

20 ounces ground lamb

2 tablespoons 7Spices

¼ cup pine nuts toasted

12 ounces shredded cooked chicken breast such as rotisserie

2 cups Syrian long Rice

Minced parsley to serve

Cucumber Laban (yogurt ) and to serve

INSTRUCTIONS

In a deep pan, melt ghee over medium high heat then add the minced onion. Sautee until translucent.

Add ground beef and spices. Cook 8-10 minutes or until meat is browned. Add spices and salt and pepper to taste.

Wash the rice well and add it to meat mixture.

Add 4 cups of boiling water close the pot and cook them on low heat.

Top dish with shredded chicken meat (or fold it into the rice) then garnish with additional toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley.

Lara khouli