Hamam Mahshi — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Whole pigeons stuffed with smoky freekeh grain, onions, and warm spices, then roasted until the skin is crackling and the stuffing is aromatic. An Egyptian delicacy reserved for honored guests.

Ingredients

4 whole pigeons, cleaned
2 cups freekeh, rinsed
1 large onion, finely diced
3 tbsp ghee
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1 Cook the rinsed freekeh in chicken broth with one tablespoon of ghee, cinnamon, and allspice for twenty minutes until tender but still retaining a pleasant chewy bite.
2 Saute the diced onion in remaining ghee until golden. Mix with the cooked freekeh, cumin, salt, and pepper to create a fragrant, well-seasoned stuffing mixture.
3 Season the pigeon cavities with salt and pepper. Stuff each bird generously with the freekeh mixture and tie the legs together with kitchen twine securely.
4 Rub the outside of each stuffed pigeon with vegetable oil, salt, and a dusting of cumin. Place breast-side up in a roasting pan without crowding them.
5 Roast at 200C for forty-five minutes, basting occasionally with pan juices, until the pigeon skin is deeply golden, crackling, and the juices run clear.
6 Rest the roasted pigeons for five minutes before serving. Plate each pigeon atop a mound of extra freekeh with pan juices drizzled over everything.

Did You Know?

Egypt has purpose-built pigeon towers called dovecotes found throughout the countryside, some dating back thousands of years, dedicated to raising pigeons for this dish.