As we approach Eid, the Holy Month comes to an end and so does Asateer, the Ramadan tent at Atlantis.

One of our honoured guests this week was our final recipe competition winner Kiran Kathpal (pictured). Kiran met with Oriental Head Chef of Levantine and Asateer, Chef Ali Elbourji to make her winning dish. The scrumptious Chicken Charmoula recipe is found below for all to share.

It’s been a wonderful month of delightful dishes shared with family and friends. For many international guests, it was an amazing first-time experience of authentic Arabic Iftar. If you enjoyed this, Eid celebrations are also worth experiencing – our previous post on Eid deals covers some of the highlights here at Atlantis, The Palm, including great deals for long lunches at Levantine and Kaleidoscope.

Chicken Charmoula

Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped Bunch of flat leaf parsely, trimmed and roughly chopped Bunch of coriander, trimmed and roughly chopped 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon parika 12 oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped 2 preserved lemons, chopped olive oil cayenne pepper 4 chicken legs Black pepper

For the yoghurt sauce (optional):

200 ml thick Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, dry-fried 2 tablespoon chopped coriander Black pepper

Method:

Step 1

Dry-fry (temper) the cumin and coriander seeds for 30-60 seconds in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once the seeds smell toasty and begin to brown, immediately remove from the heat. Then pound them together using a pestle and mortar.

Step 2

Put the onion, garlic and chopped herbs in a food processor along with the toasted spices, ginger and paprika. Blitz until the mixture looks reasonably smooth.

Step 3

Scrape the mixture into a bowl and add the chopped olives and preserved lemon. Stir in a bit of olive oil to slacken the mixture further to a paste. Season to taste with cayenne, salt and pepper.

Step 4

Slash the chicken in several places to allow the flavors to penetrate.

Step 5

Slap the paste all over the chicken, pressing it into the slashes. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but overnight if you can.

Step 6

Remove the chicken from the fridge and leave to stand for about 30 minutes to allow it to come back to room temperature before cooking.

Step 7

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

Step 8

Place the chicken in a roasting pan and roast for 30-35 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced to the centre with a fork.

Step 9

To make the yoghurt sauce, slacken the yoghurt with the milk, then stir in the remaining ingredients.