Moroccan Chicken
Moroccan chicken is one of my ultimate favorite chicken recipes of all times. I don’t eat much poultry but when I do this one recipe I like to make.
I haven’t quite made anything like this before as I was not exposed to it until last week. I have never had Moroccan chicken before.
My best friend actually had some girlfriends for dinner last week and this is what she served. It was a huge hit and everyone requested the recipe.
When I got home, the next day, I gathered the ingredients, well the chicken and eggplant pretty much, as all of the other ingredients were already in my pantry and made it.
It was too a super hit so I figured I post the recipe for you to have.
I have made a few adaptations to the recipe and it still tasted and turned out superb. I omitted the eggplant oven step and made it less time consuming and simple.
This recipe does actually use quite a few different spices. If you don’t have them I strongly recommend you go to an Indian market to get them, as they will be way cheaper and you will get much more quantity for your money.
Regular supermarkets will have them but you will pay quadruple the price for a 1/4 of the amount.
I paired the Moroccan chicken with some Moroccan whole wheat couscous however you can just use brown rice if you prefer. Since it was Moroccan chicken, couscous was more appropriate to pair this dish with.
You can half the recipe to yield 4 servings instead. I must also add that if you keep the amounts you are going to need a fairly large pot to make this recipe.
Anyhow, enjoy this succulent and awesome recipe. This one is staying in my chicken repeat recipes for ever!!
I paired this Moroccan chicken with some Moroccan couscous that was very easy to make and also very yummy!!
You will need quite a few spices for this dish but once you get them they will last you for ever, plus these are really powerful healthy spices that your body will benefit from.
PrintMoroccan chicken
Yield: 8 servings
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 6 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp celtic salt
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 12 organic chicken thighs, fat removed
- 12 organic chicken drumsticks, skinned
- 1 large eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup whole blanched almonds or slivered almonds
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Spices
- 2 Tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika, any other paprika will do
- 2 tsps turmeric
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 Tbsp marjoram
Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large wide pot, this is what I used, over medium heat.
Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add paprika, salt, turmeric, coriander, fennel, pepper, cumin, and ginger, stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, water, and lemon juice and bring to a boil.
Arrange all chicken in a single layer in the pot and spoon some sauce over. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes turn the chicken over, cover and simmer for 5 minutes longer.
Stir eggplant and marjoram into chicken. Carefully stir through and cook uncovered 10 more minutes over medium to high heat until chicken is tender and the eggplant is fully cooked. Season stew to taste with more lemon juice, salt and pepper if you like. Transfer chicken to a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and cilantro.
I served this chicken with this Moroccan couscous recipe. I actually doubled the recipe for it.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
OMGGGGGGGGg.. this is so my kinda food… flavored meat that is cooked to death… I love it. I made Moroccan Chicken once for an old bf, he so didn’t deserve it, haha! I put green olives and lots of lemon… this looks insane. Bookmarking your version too.
This looks seriously fabulous. I love the exotic flavors and the chicken looks like it is falling off the bone. Yum!
very interesting way to cook chicken with eggplants, all the spices in this recipe is soo exotic. Will have to try this out soon :) :) the picture is so mouth watering!
This does sound exotic! Very interesting. You’re getting creative with your chicken recipes. :)
I’m unsure about eggplant, though. It’s a vegetable, but it’s purple. Hmm. Maybe there’s a chance I’ll like it! But probably not. I’ll try one day, though!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it last night for dinner and it was a hit; the flavors, the aroma, the deliciousness it all turned out very well. I didn’t have couscous so used barley instead and added raisins and almonds….perfect! Will definitely be making it again! Thanks again!
Janet Jones,
thanks for letting me know. I am glad is was to a hit at your house. We love this and for sure I will be making this for time to come :-)
I don’t have a pan like this one, is there an alternative that would work? A saucepan maybe?
Nicolezebra,
for sure, just make sure is a bit deep though!!
Thanks! Gonna try it out tonight, it looks great
Wow!! looking delicious to me.I definitely try this at my home.
Couscous recipes
I am confused about the eggplant. You say to leave the eggplant UNPEELED. Isn’t the peel tough? Does one eat the peel? I have had the insides of eggplant many times, but never the peel. Could you please explain? Thank you.
Tammy,
yes I do include the peel. I have always have eggplant with the peel in it. It will cook down and will not be so tough if that is what you are worried about but if you rather peel it it is fine too :-)
I hope you like the dish!!
I have a ? I live in Japan and we really don’t have much Indian seasoning. I have everything but turmeric will it make a difference? Or is there a substitute for it?
Gina,
you will be fine without it!! I hope you like the dish.
I made this dish last night and it came out exceptional. Tastiest chicken I have had in a long time. Perfect recipe.
Super cool, I am glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know :-) Hope to see you around the blog.
Hi, this recipe looks great; I can’t wait to try it. Could you please give me an idea of the total weight of the chicken required for this recipe?
Well, I wouldn’t be able to tell but if I had to estimate I would say at least 2-3 pounds of each :-) Thanks for stopping by.
This sounds so wonderful! I have a question: I’m not too familiar with Marjoram…I have ground Majoram but 2 Tbsps seems like a lot. In the recipe is it ground Majoram or should I be looking for it as a whole leaf spice or fresh? Can’t wait to try this!
I actually used all but if you think the flavor will be too much you can just do one tablespoon. Using the powder form will be just fine. I have the dried leafy version of it :-) Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for visiting.
I tried this recipe about two months ago and have made this at LEAST every other week since! My husband and I love this. I actually adapted it for the crock pot recently as well and use chicken breasts when I do- it comes out really well. Thank you for this recipe, it’s a staple now!
That is just awesome. Thanks for letting me know. I need to make this one in the slow cooker for sure :-)
How long do you cook it in the crock pot?
I would say at least 3-4 hrs on high.
This looks good , will be a great change from my usual Indian meal. Great photos.Was wondering how do you calculate calories??
Made this with mushrooms instead of eggplant (aubergine in the UK) and it was great. Thanks for another great recipe x
Is this spicy? Or sweet?
Not spicy but you could make it spicy if you liked. It is in the low sweet side. For me this combo is great. I hope this helps. Thanks for visiting.
Hello, I’m going to attempt to make this tomorrow for a girls party! From reading all of the amazing comments, I can’t wait to make it! Just a quick question, can I prepare it a day before?
For sure. The flavors will be marinating even longer. I hope everyone likes it. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you Miryam .. I tried this recipe today and we loved it . definitely a keeper :-)
Made this tonight and it was great. After making the sauce, I cooked it with the chicken in the oven in two pans and served over brown rice. My husband even said it was good and he’s not a very adventurous eater. Can’t wait to explore more of your recipes.
That is awesome. I am glad he liked it :-)
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it! I have all the spices except ground fennel, could I use fennel seed or maybe anise extract instead?
Yes you can but the flavors may be different :-)
I made this chicken and I am confused , followed the reciepe exactly as posted. The marjoriam turned the chicken and sauce gray. What did I do wrong? the majoram was ground and I used 2tbs like the reciepe called for. Would like to try this again but need to know what went wrong and if anyone had this happen to them.
Excellent receipt – very tasty!
Thank you!
I don’t understand. It says it yields 8 servings but it calls for 24 pieces of chicken. That big should be each serving? I was trying to adapt this recipe for a small family of two but chances are I’m going to mess up the conversions :(
There are 3 pieces of chicken per person :-)
I must be the only crazy one here but in the list of ingredients it never mentions tomatoes but when describing the process it says to put the tomatoes in. ??? Did I miss something? How many tomatoes and i would assume they’re chopped up?
You are totally right. Thanks for pointing that out! I used two chopped tomatoes :-)
Moroccan Chicken3rd item in ingredients list is 2 chopped tomatoes!!
Yes, what is your question about the 3rd ingredient.
Wow! Amazing! My first time cooking with eggplant. All the flavors are so great! (And I’m a huge cilantro fan so that was the “icing on the cake”!)
That is awesome. I am glad you liked it. I am a big fan of cilantro too :-)
I just made this for dinner so delicious. Thank you.
Hi, this looks like an interesting recipe, we are a chicken loving family always on the lookout for new recipes! I do have a question, does the recipe use 2 chopped tomatoes only or 4 tomatoes total incorprated twice? The ingredients list tomatoes twice….
2 tomatoes :-)
Hello! Would love to try this in a roasting pan in oven. Any thoughts on temperature and bake time?? Also, perhaps will
Need more liquid/sauce ??
I would say 400F but I am not sure. I have never baked it in the oven so I wouldn’t be able to tell. Perhaps keep an eye as you are baking to adjust liquid/sauce!
I love to entertain and make different foods from around the world. Middle Eastern, and South East Asia are probably my favorite to make. I’m looking forward to making this dish, including the couscous for a dinner party this week. But, the Moroccan Couscous site now takes me to a completely different site. This just occurred in the past two days, for I have purchased all the ingredients for the orginal recipe that I had pinned. I have now combined two different recipes for the Moroccan couscous but would like to make the original that you had attached to your Moroccan Chicken.
Are you going to the recipe straight from Pinterest? Sometimes that happens and I hate it. I have no idea how I can stop that :-( I am so sorry is redirecting you somewhere else, however, you can search all my Moroccan recipe under the recipe tab and go to the Moroccan section. Have fun at your dinner party :-)
I cooked it, and found it… tangy, sharp and generally a bit unpleasant. I was unamused all this bloody effort went to a dish that I found… vinegary.
I added a good table spoon or two of honey to it, fixed it right up!
Cilantro, you British folks, is Chinese curled parsley, known technically to you and me as ‘parsley’. Which is to say, when you go to Tesco and see flat leaf parsley, that will do, but the dark green, curly parsley is your man.
Helen
Cilantro isn’t curly parsley, it is the plant that comes from coriander seed, used extensively in Mexican and Asian food. It has a strong and distinct aroma. Some people love it, some hate it. In New Mexico it is probably 20 to 1 love to hate. We eat it in everything from eggs to cheese to guacamole. I don’t think either type of parsley will make a satisfactory substitute but I would think flat leaf parsley would bee good in it on it’s own.
Try adding dried apricots if you want it sweeter or chile caribe (not too much) if you want It spicier.
Eggplant skin is purple but the inside is sort of creamy colored and full of seeds. It is all edible but then so are are potato skins and people discard them as well. Japanese eggplant is much smaller than the common “aubergene” or globe eggplant, maybe six inches around and an inch or so in diameter. Its skin is delicate and tasty, scoop some up if you find it in the market.
Something else that would be excellent added to this dish would be chick peas or okra but then it wouldn’t be this dish any more would it?
Looks scrumptious:) we will make this this weekend ams include some black olives. Thanks for sharing!
This is delicious! I changed it a little bit by coating chic with garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander salt & pepper- let it sit for 30 min. Then seared the chicken to get a little color. Then followed the instructions as listed. Very tasty!
That sounds like a great idea. I will try that next time. Thanks for stopping by!
This looks and sounds delicious. I’ll surely be making it. I’m watching my carbs and I’m wondering what is making this dish close to 70 carbs?
Thanks for your help!
This was amazing. I didn’t have an eggplant so I left it out but used everything else as written and it was amazing.
That is awesome. I am glad you liked it. I have to make it again soon! Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you for the excellent recipe! My whole family enjoyed the dish. Even my very picky 15 year old! In addition to the eggplant, I added zucchini and carrots to the dish and served it with whole wheat couscous studded with apricots and raisins. Looking forward to making this dish for my friends. Cheers
Thank you very much for seeing good information.
Your hands are very skillful and full of art, and you have a very creative brain to make these wonderful dishes.
The food looks delicious and very wonderful, I will often follow your posts.
I’ve really been craving some fall flavors already like pumpkin and apples. It seems absurd to have these cravings with all the great stone fruit and berries around, but I really miss them. This crumble is REALLY making me them, and I love your photos!
I usually eat everything made with chicken with love, but your recipe looks super, I’m sure I’ll make this recipe and eat it with great pleasure, thank you.
A healthy, easy but simple dish to make. I will learn to make this dish.
Thank you very much for seeing good information.
I do not know what to say really what you share very well and useful to the community, I feel that it makes our community much more developed, thanks