Like many countries around the world, depending where an individual is from in Saudi impacts upon the dishes which are made, and what kind of spices are used.  Main meals such as kubsa, jeerish and gursan are popular dishes throughout the Kingdom.  However, these dishes may be prepared “Nej’di” style if from Riyadh or “Hijazi” style if from Jeddah or Makkah.   Hijazi dishes are known to have a wider variety of ingredients and an Asian influence due to the number of Saudi families with a mixed heritage who call Jeddah or Makkah home.  Saudi’s Eastern Province, by comparison, is well-known for its seafood dishes.  Yet each individual dish is set apart by the secret spices chosen by the Saudi woman when she prepares the dish which makes it uniquely her own.

Saudi women, regardless of which Province in the Kingdom they represent, take great pride in preparing the tastiest dishes for their families and any visiting guests.  Each and every city, town, and village in each of Saudi’s Provinces will have a spice market.  These spice markets have large barrels each filled to the brim offering tantalizing colorful spices.  The Saudi woman has mastered the art of how to combine individual spices in order to create her own distinct blend of flavor and special ingredient which sets apart her dishes from others.  Many times when I have asked a Saudi woman for her recipe, to recreate her appetizing dish in my own home, she will kindly suggest I let her know when I’d like her to prepare the dish for me instead, rather than share her secret mix of spices!

However, common selections Saudi women from all Provinces use in their appetizing cuisine include the following:

Spices: black pepper, red pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, saffron, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mastika (gum Arabic), fennel, anise, ginger, marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil (rehan), bay leaves (waraq ghar), lemon salt, black lemon.

Nuts and seeds: Nigella (habat al baraka), almonds, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame seeds.

I’ve always enjoyed when learning how to prepare traditional dishes from my lovely Mother-in-Law, Mama Moudy, and learning the history behind these dishes.  So in closing this article, it is my pleasure to share some Mama Moudy history and a tasty recipe for the traditional Saudi dish called Seleek (Saleeg).

Seleek, like many of the traditional Saudi main courses, is basically a chicken and rice dish.  However the way it is prepared makes it unique and very tasty.  Seleek originated in the Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia and specifically, Makkah.  It was very typical in older times to serve seleek as the traditional dish at wedding parties.  Now bear in mind, most Saudi wedding parties would have several hundred guests and the family would choose to prepare the food themselves.  As a result, Seleek would be prepared in a gigantic old cast iron pot with large handles on each side.  The pot was so large that two adults could easily fit inside the pot!  The huge pot was brought to Makkah from India and found to be the most ideal container when preparing such large quantities of seleek.

Naturally the wedding parties in Makkah would have extended family from all over the Kingdom coming to enjoy the festivities and give their best wishes.  They would eat the seleek that was prepared and the memory of how much they enjoyed the dish stayed with them on their return back to Nej’d or the Eastern Province or elsewhere in the Kingdom.  Therefore, when they knew that Makkah relatives would in turn be coming to visit them, the Makkah relatives would be besieged by requests to please fix that delectable chicken and rice dish for them.  Eventually the recipe for seleek got passed around frequently enough that it is now enjoyed widely by many throughout the Kingdom.  It is most popular now during the winter season since seleek is one of the Saudi dishes that will “stick to your ribs” and keep you warm.

And now, with Mama Moudy’s blessing, I am sharing the recipe with you on how to make seleek.

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken cut up
• Egyptian Rice
• Milk
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 Tomatos
• Lemon juice

Preparation:

First of all cut each tomato in half.  Using a hand held grater, rub each half of the tomato over the grater so the juices and small pieces of the grated tomato will fall into a small bowl.  Add a tablespoon of fresh lemon (or lime) juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

To begin the seleek, first put the chicken pieces into a large pot and cover with water.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Boil chicken pieces until cooked and tender.

Remove chicken pieces from pot and place on baking dish.  Put dish with chicken in warm oven set to lowest heat.

Take 2 cups of Egyptian rice which has been soaking in water.  Drain the rice and then pour it into the pot which is still filled with the chicken water.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring the rice to a boil stirring often.  The rice will begin to thicken.  As the rice thickens heat 2 – 3 cups of milk in a small pan.  Also set the oven to broil so the boiled chicken will have a crunchy and appetizing outer coat.

Now pour the hot milk into the pot with the rice.  The rice will thicken even more and will become similar in texture to “sticky rice.”  Stir frequently during this process and add 2 tablespoons butter.  When a wooden spoon will stand up by itself, the rice is done.

Arrange rice on a platter with the broiled chicken atop.  Add some of the tomato mixture atop of the seleek and chicken before eating.