Moghrabieh Recipe: Lebanese Pearl Couscous with Chicken, Chickpeas and Baby Onions

• 500 g dried moghrabieh pearls
• 1.2 kg bone-in chicken pieces (optionally combined with 300 g lamb shank)
• 400 g cooked chickpeas, drained (or 200 g dried chickpeas soaked overnight and boiled tender)
• 350 g whole peeled pearl onions or small shallots
• 3 tbsp Arabic ghee (samna) and 2 tbsp plain flour to thicken the gravy
• Moghrabieh spices: 1.5 tsp ground caraway, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1 cinnamon stick and salt

Preparation Steps

1. 1Simmer the chicken in about 1.8 litres of water with the cinnamon stick, a small onion and salt for 40 minutes until tender, skimming the foam at the start; lift out the chicken and strain the broth.
2. 2Melt 1.5 tbsp ghee in a deep pot and brown the whole peeled baby onions evenly so they keep their shape, then stir in half the ground spices, the chickpeas and about 900 ml of chicken broth and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. 3Boil the dried moghrabieh pearls separately in plenty of salted water for 15 to 18 minutes until just tender to the bite, then drain thoroughly.
4. 4Return the drained pearls to the pot with the remaining 1.5 tbsp ghee and the rest of the caraway, cumin and cinnamon, moisten with 2 to 3 ladles of hot broth and steam covered over very low heat for 8 minutes.
5. 5Whisk the flour smoothly into half a cup of warm broth, stir into the onion-and-chickpea pot and simmer briefly into a velvety gravy; pile the spiced moghrabieh onto a platter, top with crisp broiled chicken, onions and chickpeas, and serve the hot gravy on the side.