Spiced Chicken Fries with Cheese Curds — Loaded Spiced Chicken Fries - Machboos Poutine
Crispy fries piled with Qatari machboos-spiced shredded chicken in a cardamom and saffron gravy, finished with fresh squeaky cheese curds, dried lime, and lime-pickled red onion.
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Cut chicken into 3cm cubes. Crack dried limes, tap out seeds, and grind shells to a coarse powder in a mortar. Combine dried lime powder, 1 tsp cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, 1 tsp salt, and black pepper in a small bowl to make machboos spice. Mince garlic. Slice red onion into thin rings. Cut potatoes into 1cm fries and pat dry on a kitchen towel. Crumble saffron into 4 tbsp hot water and rest 5 minutes. Pick cilantro leaves. Preheat oven to 425°F.
Bake
Toss potato fries with 4 tbsp neutral oil and 0.5 tsp salt on two sheet pans in a single layer. Roast 28 minutes turning once, until edges are deep gold and centers are tender.
Sear
Toss chicken with machboos spice, garlic, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high 90 seconds. Add chicken in a single layer and sear 6 minutes turning often, until every side is deep mahogany and the spice forms a crust.
Simmer
Lift chicken to a board and shred into bite-size pieces with two forks. Melt 2 tbsp butter in the same skillet over medium 60 seconds. Whisk in 2 tbsp flour and cook 90 seconds until walnut-brown. Stream in chicken stock and saffron with its bloom water, whisking constantly. Add 0.5 tsp cardamom, soy sauce, and shredded chicken. Reduce to low and simmer 6 minutes until the gravy turns deep gold and clings to the chicken.
Build
Toss red onion rings with juice of 1 lime, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Press down and rest 10 minutes until onion turns pink and tender.
Plate
Pile hot fries on two wide plates. Scatter cheese curds across the top so they sit between the fries. Spoon machboos chicken and saffron gravy generously over so the curds soften under the heat. Scatter pickled red onion, cilantro, and a final dust of dried lime powder across the top. Serve with remaining lime in wedges.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.