Tbit – Iraqi Chicken Stuffed with Rice for Shabbat with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Fried onion

1. 8
   Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear, soak 30 minutes and drain.

   Colander

   💡Rinsing removes the starch from the surface of the grains: the rice comes out fluffy and separate, not sticky.

   💡Soaking shortens the cooking, and the grains cook evenly.
2. 9
   Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
3. 10
   Add the onion and fry, stirring, until the onion turns golden.

   Stove

   💡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.

To assemble

1. 11
   Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and cook 5 minutes, until softened.

   Stove
2. 12
   Add the rice and the turmeric, cumin and baharat and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in tomato.
3. 13
   Fill the cavity of the chicken with the mixture, not all the way, because the rice will still swell.
4. 14
   Set the chicken in a heavy pot, and arrange the eggs in their shells and the rest of the mixture around it.

   Cast-iron pot
5. 15
   Add the water, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

   Stove
6. 16
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 8-10 hours without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   StoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
7. 17
   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.
8. 18
   Gently fluff with a fork, transfer to a serving plate and arrange the chicken on top and serve with the eggs.