Egyptian Baked Chicken

 When most people hear about Egypt, they think of the pyramids, the Nile, caravans, dancers and the massive city of Cairo.  But the truth is, Egypt has another intriguing asset—the food.  Egyptians love to eat, and whenever they cook a meal (especially for a holiday or a family gathering), they usually make enough to feed a small army.  Not just one or two, but several tempting dishes are laid out on the table for variety.  This baked chicken recipe is extremely common in many homes and there are variations of it as well, using beef and even fish.  A lot of Egyptians will also add peas as an extra vegetable to this dish.   Or a variation of eastern spices.   I make this dish whenever I want something hearty and filling.   It is usually accompanied by flavored rice.  I often use Rice-A-Roni, because its so quick and easy.  But you can use any rice recipe.    

Egyptian Baked Chicken 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut up (or about as much of any pieces you have) and boiled until just done, then drained

2 diced medium onions

2 more medium onions sliced into rings, kept separate from diced

2 large green sweet bell peppers, seeded and sliced in rings

3 medium tomatoes, diced

1 tablespoon black pepper

½ tsp salt

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1sp turmeric powder

6 cloves minced garlic

1 cup chicken broth

4 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1.       In a large skillet over medium heat, fry diced onions in oil until clear.

2.        Place boiled chicken pieces into pan with onions.  Sprinkle cumin, black pepper, salt, turmeric and garlic on top and blend everything together well.  Cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent garlic from burning.

3.       Spread ring-sliced onions out evenly in a 9x13 casserole dish.  Layer the tomatoes over the onions in the same way, followed by the green peppers.   

4.       Lay the chicken (and all the pan drippings) evenly in casserole dish over the vegetables.

5.       Pour all the chicken broth over the top of the chicken and vegetables.

6.       Preheat oven to 350 and bake chicken until it is brown, and vegetables are tender and caramelized (45 minutes, or more if needed).  Serve hot with rice.