This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Fiorina is now a 14-month old toddler and she loves this dish. I’m always excited if I fixed something that she likes. She ate more than her usual portion. I guess she must have really liked the ptitim. Both my husband and I agree too that this dish is delicious.
Ptitim is also known as couscous. Like regular pasta, ptitim doesn’t have much taste and it absorbs whatever spices and herbs you put in the cooking. In this case, the chicken, the broth, the hawaij (Yemenite seasoning), the curry powder, the tomatoes, mushrooms, etc, really flavor the ptitim so well. I personally really enjoy this dish and they are so easy to make too. Perhaps more work is on cutting the veggies and prepare the hawaij, however without the hawaij spice mix, the whole dish probably won’t lighten up so well.
PTITIM CASSEROLE WITH CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp oil
- 2 large onions chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into small dice
- 2 to matoes finely chopped
- 2 cups ptitim
- 1 tsp hawaij Yemenite seasoning
- ½ tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ¼ cups boiling chicken stock or water
- ¼ cup fresh coriander chopped
For Hawaij seasoning:
- 1 Tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- ½ Tbsp ground cardamon
- ½ Tbsp ground caraway seeds
- ¾ Tbsp ground turmeric
- ½ Tbsp ground coriander seeds
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ Tbsp ground dried coriander leaves
Instructions
- Mix all the Hawaij seasoning together in a small bowl and set aside
- Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and saute lightly. Add the carrots and mushrooms and saute for another 4 minutes until golden. Add the chicken and stir-fry until turns white
- Add the tomatoes, ptitim and hawaij seasoning, stir and pour in the boiling stock or water. Mix, taste and adjust the seasoning. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the ptitim are tender
- Fluff with a fork, add the chopped coriander, cover, and wait another 10 minutes before serving
