فريكة مع الدجاج

We start by washing the freekeh thoroughly several times until it's completely clean, then we drain it well.

Prepare the spice and olive oil mixture, apply it to the freekeh, and toss the freekeh with the spices until all the kernels are coated with the flavors.

Use the same mixture of spices and olive oil to marinate the chicken, and rub the chicken well with it until it is well coated with the marinade on all sides.

We chop the onion and garlic into small pieces.

In a pan over the heat, we add a bit of oil, then place the chicken pieces and sear them until they turn golden brown. We then remove them from the pan and set them aside.

In the same oil, we add the chopped onion and sauté it until it softens, then we add the garlic and stir briefly.

We add the freekeh to the pan and stir it with the onion and garlic for 3–4 minutes, then turn off the heat.

In a baking dish, we spread the freekeh at the bottom, then arrange the chicken pieces on top.

We pour the remaining chicken marinade over the chicken in the dish.

We pour boiling water carefully around the edges of the dish, making sure not to pour water directly over the chicken.

We cover the dish first with parchment paper, then with aluminum foil.

We place the dish in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F), positioning it on the rack just above the bottom one—not the very bottom rack.

We let it bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. After 45 minutes, we open the foil slightly to check if it needs more water and add if necessary.

Ten minutes before the full baking time is up, we uncover the dish to allow the chicken top to brown nicely.