Maftoul - Palestinian Couscous with Chicken and Chickpeas

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meat Browned in the Rice Pot

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry 1 more minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the chicken drumsticks and brown on all sides, 5 minutes.

   Stove
5. 5
   Add the tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and black pepper, stir and cook 5 minutes.

   Stove
6. 6
   Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn down to low, cover and simmer 30 minutes, until the chicken drumsticks soften.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
7. 7
   Remove the chicken drumsticks from the pot, pull the meat off the bones and return it to the pot.

   Slotted spoon

To assemble

1. 8
   Add the pearl couscous and the beans to the stock in the pot, bring to a boil and stir once.

   Stove
2. 9
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
3. 10
   Turn off the heat and leave covered 5–10 minutes.

   💡Don't open the lid during cooking: the steam is what cooks the top layer. A towel between the pot and the lid absorbs the drips, so the rice doesn't get soggy.
4. 11
   Gently stir in the parsley.
5. 12
   Gently fluff with a fork and serve.