🍲 Chicken saloona
Saloona is the everyday stew of the Emirates and the wider Gulf: chicken simmered with potato, carrot, tomato and onion in a thin, fragrant broth. Baharat spice and a dried black lime give it a warm, gently sour flavour. The sauce stays light and soupy, and the stew is ladled over white rice at family lunches.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 800 g chicken pieces, skinless
- 2 potatoes, cubed
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp baharat
- 1 dried black lime, pierced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt
- 1 litre water
Method
- Fry the onion in the oil until soft, then add the chicken and baharat and brown for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until they break down.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, dried lime, salt and water. Bring to the boil.
- Cover and simmer for 35–40 minutes until the chicken and vegetables are tender.
- Remove the lime, check the salt and serve hot.
How to make it lighter
- Use skinless chicken and a single tablespoon of oil — 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
- Add extra carrots or courgette in place of some potato for more volume with fewer calories.
- Keep the rice to a small scoop and fill the bowl with broth and vegetables.
History
Saloona is a home-cooking staple across the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, made with whatever meat, fish and vegetables are at hand. Its use of dried lime and baharat reflects the Gulf’s long spice trade with India and Persia.
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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 →