Moghrabieh — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Pearl-sized couscous balls simmered in a fragrant cinnamon-caraway broth with tender chicken and chickpeas. This festive Lebanese dish is a celebration of warm spices and hearty textures.

Ingredients

500g moghrabieh pearls (Lebanese couscous)
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
2 onions, quartered
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 tsp allspice
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1 Soak moghrabieh pearls in warm water for one hour, then drain. Soak chickpeas overnight and drain before cooking.
2 Place chicken pieces, soaked chickpeas, onions, cinnamon sticks, caraway, allspice, and bay leaves in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
3 Skim any foam from the surface. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour until the chicken is falling-off-the-bone tender and chickpeas are soft.
4 Remove chicken and chickpeas from the broth. Strain the broth and return it to the pot, keeping it at a gentle simmer.
5 In a separate pot, saute drained moghrabieh in butter and olive oil for 2 minutes. Ladle hot broth over the pearls and simmer 15-20 minutes until tender.
6 Mound the cooked moghrabieh on a large platter, arrange chicken and chickpeas on top, and ladle additional broth around the edges to serve.

Did You Know?

Moghrabieh literally means "from the Maghreb," reflecting the North African origins of the couscous pearls that Lebanese cooks adopted centuries ago.