Lebanese Chicken And Rice (Djaj Mah Ruz) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Step A
The Chicken
1 whole roasting chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
Step B
The Stuffing
1/4 cup butter
1 cup ground lamb (or ground beef)
1 cup long grain rice
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups water
Step C
The Topping
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup seedless raisin (optional)

Preparation

STEP A: Set oven to 450 degrees F. Clean chicken and rub all over with remaining ingredients in Step A. Place in a roasting pan with a 1/2 cup water. Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until chicken is tender.
STEP B: While chicken is cooking, prepare stuffing on top of stove. In a saucepan, saute butter and meat until meat is brown. Add the washed and drained rice, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Saute for 1 minute; add the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is tender.
STEP C: While rice is cooking, saute nuts in butter until golden brown. Add the raisins, if desired, and saute for 1 minute.
TO SERVE: De-bone chicken; set aside. Place rice stuffing on a large platter. Arrange chicken meat pieces over top of rice. Sprinkle nuts and raisins over the chicken.