🍚 Chicken saleeg
Saleeg is a Hejazi rice dish in which short-grain rice is simmered in chicken broth and then milk until soft and creamy, like a savoury risotto. It is flavoured with cardamom, enriched with butter, and served topped with pieces of chicken that are often browned before serving. It is mild, comforting and very soft.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 chicken (about 1.2 kg), cut into pieces
- 400 g short-grain rice, rinsed
- 750 ml milk
- 1.2 l water
- 4 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf
- 1 onion, halved
- 30 g butter
- Salt
Method
- Boil the chicken with the onion, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and salt for about 40 minutes; strain and keep the broth.
- Cook the rice in about 1 l of the broth, stirring often, until it absorbs most of it.
- Add the milk gradually and keep stirring over low heat until thick and creamy.
- Brown the chicken pieces briefly in a hot oven or pan.
- Stir the butter into the rice and serve with the chicken on top.
How to make it lighter
- Use skinless chicken and remove the fat from the broth.
- Halve the butter: 10 g butter ≈ 72 kcal.
- Serve with a large Arabic salad to keep the rice portion smaller.
History
Saleeg is associated with the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, especially Taif, Mecca and Jeddah, where it is a popular family dish, often served in winter and at gatherings.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Chicken saleeg and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
Download on the App StoreSimilar dishes
Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →