National Dish Palestine: Musakhan (Recipe)
In this article
Musakhan is bread, onions and sumac, with chicken on top. The proportions are the surprise: three onions per two chicken pieces, cooked down in a great deal of olive oil until they collapse, with enough sumac to turn everything deep red.
About Musakhan
Musakhan is Palestine’s national dish and it belongs to the olive harvest. It was made to use the first pressing of new oil, which is why it uses so much of it, and the bread underneath soaks it up.
The bread is taboon, baked on hot stones. Sumac is the defining spice, sour and fruity, from a shrub that grows across the hills.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 3 onions, cut into thin rings
- 2 tablespoons sumac
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 flatbreads
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional: pine nuts and fresh parsley, to garnish
Shopping for the ingredients
Palestinian olive oil if you can get it, and use more than the recipe says: four or five tablespoons is closer to right. Sumac from a Middle Eastern shop is far better than supermarket versions. Chicken thighs on the bone beat breast fillets considerably.
Preparing the dish
Slice the onions thinly and cook them slowly in the oil for twenty minutes at least, until they collapse and sweeten. Add the sumac to the onions rather than sprinkling it at the end, so it infuses the oil.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Fry the chicken in a pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until lightly browned; set aside.
- Add the onions to the pan with the remaining olive oil and cook slowly for 20 minutes until soft and collapsed.
- Stir in the sumac and season, cooking a further 2 minutes.
- Lay the flatbreads on a baking tray, spread the onions over them and place the chicken on top.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the bread edges crisp.
- Toast the pine nuts in a little oil until golden.
- Scatter with pine nuts and parsley and serve.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The chicken, onions and sumac contain no gluten and no dairy. The bread is wheat; use a gluten-free flatbread, or serve the onions and chicken over rice.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
The onion and sumac base is the dish, more than the chicken is. Roasted cauliflower, aubergine or chickpeas on the same bread work genuinely well, and Palestinian cooks make versions like this. Keep the oil quantity.
More tips and tricks
Use more oil than feels reasonable and more onion than seems sensible. Both are correct. Cook the onions slowly until they collapse rather than browning them fast. And let the bread take up the oil rather than trying to keep it crisp.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Rolled into individual portions is the modern restaurant presentation. Chicken thighs on the bone give more flavour. A squeeze of lemon at the end sharpens it further.
Ingredient substitutions
Taboon bread, or a thick pitta or naan. Lemon zest with a pinch of salt approximates sumac badly. Almonds can replace pine nuts.
Drink pairing ideas
Mint tea after the meal. Ayran or a yoghurt drink alongside. Water, since the dish is oily by design.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it on one large tray, bread underneath, onions over it, chicken on top, everything scattered with pine nuts. It is eaten with the hands, tearing bread with the chicken. Yoghurt and a salad on the side.
A bit of history
Musakhan is from the northern West Bank, around Jenin and Tulkarem, and it is tied to the olive harvest in autumn. It has become a symbol of Palestinian identity, cooked and shared as such by the diaspora. It anchors Palestinian cuisine alongside maqluba and rummaniyya.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Musakhan
Musakhan is flatbread topped with sumac onions cooked in olive oil and roast chicken. Use three onions to two pieces of chicken, plenty of oil, and let the bread soak it up.
