Halal-conscious recipe
Moroccan roast chicken with apricots
Sarah Cook's Moroccan roast chicken with Halal chicken: two spatchcocked birds marinated in sumac, cumin, fennel, chilli, lemon and pomegranate molasses, barbecued or roasted, with honeyed preserved-lemon apricots and saffron yogurt.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Why Halal checks matter here
The dish is 2 small whole chickens, which are Halal only from Halal-slaughtered birds; the saffron yogurt needs a gelatin check, and the apricots are roasted in 4 tbsp of white wine vinegar, which is a scholarly difference.
Two small spatchcocked chickens are marinated for a day or two in a paste of sumac, cumin and fennel seeds, chilli, garlic, coriander, lemon and pomegranate molasses, then barbecued or roasted until crisp. They are served with apricots roasted in honey, preserved lemon and orange blossom water, and a saffron yogurt. The source tags it Moroccan. The chickens need a Halal source, the yogurt should have no gelatin on its label, and the white wine vinegar in the apricots is a scholarly difference (see vinegar), with lemon juice as our swap.
It follows Sarah Cook's Moroccan roast chicken with apricots for BBC Good Food, which serves six. Start a day ahead: the source marinates the birds for 24 to 48 hours.
Serve with the cooking juices, apricots and saffron yogurt.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Whole chickens Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides, and chicken without a Halal mark doesn't say how the bird was slaughtered. Buy the chickens from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
- Natural yogurt Plain yogurt is milk fermented with cultures, but gelatin turns up in set, low-fat and dessert yogurts. Choose a yogurt with no gelatin on the label. See Yogurt.
- White wine vinegar Wine vinegar is a scholarly difference: the Hanafi school, Indonesia's MUI and IslamQA permit it, while the classical Shafi'i rule and Malaysia's 2006 fatwa do not. Use it only if your school accepts it, or use lemon juice instead (our swap). See Vinegar.
Safe substitutes
- Chickens of unknown slaughter → 2 Halal small whole chickens
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar, if your school doesn't accept it → 4 tbsp lemon juice (our swap)
Allergens
milk (yogurt)
Ingredients
Chicken and marinade
- 2 Halal small whole chickens
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- small bunch coriander
- 2 tbsp sumac
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 lemons, zest and juice
- 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Apricots
- 12 apricots, halved and stoned
- 2 preserved lemons, rinsed, seeds removed, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp clear honey
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar (or lemon juice; see the Halal note)
To serve
- 250 g natural yogurt with no gelatine, mixed with 1–2 pinches of saffron
Method
- Marinate the chickens. Spatchcock the chickens, or ask your butcher to do it. Blend the olive oil, coriander, sumac, cumin, fennel, chilli, garlic, lemon zest and juice, pomegranate molasses and some black pepper to a paste. Divide between 2 large food bags, add a chicken to each, squeeze out the air, seal and work the paste all over. Marinate in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours, turning every so often.
- Cook the chickens. Light a barbecue and let the flames die down, or heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lift the chickens out of the bags and season well with salt. Barbecue or roast for 25 to 30 minutes on each side until crisp and cooked through, then rest on a platter, loosely covered with foil. If you roasted them, keep the tin juices warm.
- Roast the apricots. Put the apricots in a small, snug roasting tin. Whisk the preserved lemon, honey, orange blossom water and vinegar with some seasoning, pour over the apricots and roast, or sit the tin on the barbecue, for 20 minutes until soft.
- Serve. Serve the chicken with any cooking juices, the apricots and the saffron yogurt.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Moroccan roast chicken with apricots' by Sarah Cook, tagged Moroccan (serves 6: 2 small chickens spatchcocked, or done by the butcher; 6 tbsp olive oil, a small bunch of coriander, 2 tbsp sumac, 1 tbsp each cumin and fennel seeds, 2 tsp chilli flakes, 2 garlic cloves, the zest and juice of 2 lemons, 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses and black pepper blended to a paste; the chickens coated in it in 2 large food bags and marinated 24 to 48 hours in the fridge; seasoned with salt and barbecued or roasted at 220C/200C fan/gas 7 for 25 to 30 minutes on each side until crisp and cooked through, then rested under foil; 12 halved, stoned apricots roasted 20 minutes with 2 finely chopped rinsed preserved lemons, 3 tbsp clear honey, 1 tbsp orange blossom water, 4 tbsp white wine vinegar and seasoning; served with the cooking juices, the apricots and 250 g natural yogurt mixed with 1 to 2 pinches of saffron). We specified Halal chickens and a gelatine-free yogurt; the vinegar is a scholarly difference, with lemon juice as our swap. Nothing else needed changing. The rest time is the minimum 24-hour marinade. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
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Moroccan roast chicken with apricots — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By Sarah Cook, tagged Moroccan. Serves 6, prep 20 minutes, cook 50 minutes plus a 24 to 48 hour marinade: spatchcocked chickens in a sumac, cumin, fennel, chilli, garlic, lemon and pomegranate molasses paste; barbecued or roasted at 220C, 25 to 30 minutes a side; apricots roasted 20 minutes with preserved lemon, honey, orange blossom water and white wine vinegar; saffron yogurt. We specified Halal chicken and a gelatine-free yogurt.
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Chicken analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
What makes chicken Halal: the slaughter.