Suqaar Digaag (Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Sauté)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
- 1medium red onion, halved and sliced
- 1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced into bite-size pieces
- ½lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon hot, sweet or smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2teaspoons store-bought or homemade xawaash blend (see Tip)
- Fine sea salt
- 4 to 5garlic cloves, minced
- 1small jalapeño (optional), stemmed and halved
- 1medium red bell pepper, sliced
- 1medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- Flatbread (such as anjero or sabaayad) or rice and salad, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm up 2 tablespoons oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the chicken, lemon juice, paprika, black pepper, 1 teaspoon xawaash blend and 1 teaspoon salt; mix until evenly coated.
- Step 3
Once the onion finishes cooking, add the garlic and jalapeño (if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and turn up the heat to medium-high. Let the chicken cook, undisturbed, until it is cooked almost all the way through, 4 to 5 minutes, then stir the chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer until it is cooked through and browned.
- Step 4
Add the bell peppers, cilantro and remaining 1 teaspoon xawaash blend and mix together. If you need a little more oil, add a drizzle. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid and let the suqaar cook, stirring occasionally, until the bell peppers become tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt if you’d like.
- Step 5
Serve the chicken suqaar with a flatbread of your choice, or over rice and with a salad. Chicken suqaar can last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Tip
- To prepare your own xawaash blend, add 4 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant, then stir in ½ teaspoon ground turmeric. Makes 6 teaspoons.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Jamaican T
I tried this last night - had to make my own xawaash per the tip at the bottom as I didn’t have any. It was delish and I will definitely be making it again. I did not change a thing.
Annie Nord
I followed the recipe, exactly. That is a challenge for me but I did it. It was delicious!
michael b from ROC
This has become in regular rotation in my family. Delicious.
Stephen
Amazing recipe. I make the spice blend in the note and use all of it on the chicken thighs. (If I have the foresight I will rub it on the thighs in the morning and put it in the fridge until I’m ready to make later). I also tend to throw in anything else I might have lying around — spinach, chickpeas, mushrooms, etc. One thing I always add is a preserved lemon from my fridge, chopped. Takes the dish over the top.
Jo
Really flavourful and super easy. I added water at the end to make more sauce and prevent from burning. I would also add more peppers next time. Delicious!
Tom F
Easy and tasty. I think it’s worth making your own xawaash.
David
It's exceedingly easy. Make the chicken suqaar to go with it. I have no idea whether or not there is anything authentic here, but this is delicious. I slow cooked green beans in olive oil with a bit of salt and added them on the side. Cumin pairs well with red wine. My entire family was very satisfied. I'd love to eat the real thing someday, but in the meantime, I will be making this dish from time to time.
Paul
Absolutely outstanding. Made my own xawaash, which is great when freshly roasted. I used a large jalapeno, which gave us the hot spice we like but did not overwhelm the warm spices (esp. the cinnamon). Beautiful balance.
Matt
So how about a recipe for anjero or sabaayad?
Alexis
So flavorful. Will double the recipe next time as we did not serve w/ carbohydrates.
Aleta
Pretty tasty. Made the spice blend as recommended in the tip. Great mix of spices. I found the peppers got a little too well cooked for my taste, as well as the onions, so next time I might shorten the cooking time as needed for those.
michael b from ROC
This has become in regular rotation in my family. Delicious.
rachel
Followed the recipe as written - wouldn’t change a thing. I left out the optional jalapeños to accommodate my three and five year olds. The dish had so much flavor but was still somehow a big hit with picky kids who devoured it. Served it with store bought naan - divine.
Stephen
Amazing recipe. I make the spice blend in the note and use all of it on the chicken thighs. (If I have the foresight I will rub it on the thighs in the morning and put it in the fridge until I’m ready to make later). I also tend to throw in anything else I might have lying around — spinach, chickpeas, mushrooms, etc. One thing I always add is a preserved lemon from my fridge, chopped. Takes the dish over the top.
Peggy
Do you add the preserved lemon to the cooking, or add it just before serving?
Sri Lankan-1
I was amazed by the flavor in such a low component count dish. I was expecting a dry chicken dish and it had plenty of gravy. It was incredibly flavorful. Served it with Goya Black Bean Rice (from the pack). The combination was Devine. Highly recommended. Added Spice House Half-Sharp Paprika, 2X the amount.
Mariah
First time making Somali dishes at home (thank you NYT for the exposure!). Very good, especially with Somali rice and hot sauce recipe. I'm not a fan of soft, over cooked peppers, which I realize this is my own personal preference, otherwise would have been a 5 star recipe. Everyone in the family loved it!
Peter
This was incredibly good. It's a wonderful mix of flavors. The closed-lid cooking step ensured that the chicken stayed nice and tender, and the mix of spices plus liquids released from the peppers results in a delicious sauce. We made the xawaash using the "tip" instructions. (Didn't have a jalepeno, so added some hot sauce.) Only problem was that it was so good we barely had any leftovers despite making the 4-serving recipe for only 2 people.
Suprita
I made the xawaash exactly as instructed and this was DELICIOUS and came together pretty quickly. We had this with rice and I will definitely use the xawaash for other meats/dishes. Overall, an absolute hit!
nelli
This went pretty well! I doubled because I have a large hungry family and like leftovers. The chicken took a long time to cook out the liquid and get brown. I’ve learned with NYT recipes the the cook time assumes you’ve already done the prep, so this took me about an hour prep included. I made the spice blend as suggested and it was tasty! The kids liked the chicken. Served with rice. Would like to have injera with it next time!
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