Better than the original Halal Cart Style Chicken and Rice, this recipe delivers a version that comes together to create a party in your mouth. It is also, incidentally, a great dish to serve at a party!
Not a Copycat
For those of you familiar with New York this recipe was originally meant to be a copycat of the Halal Cart Style Chicken and Rice that is found at the corner of 53rd and 6th. I first had it when I was in university and like all college kids absolutely adored the flavors, serving size and price tag.
Here’s the thing though – I don’t remember how that particular one tastes. What I have had more recently is the chain version, purportedly from the same people, and it's just okay. Blog friends who have made this recipe and then gone to NYC and had the original one say this is far better and I happily believe them.
Flavor Profile of this Chicken and Rice
What makes this Halal Cart Style Chicken and Rice extraordinarily fun is that it has so many layers of flavour.
There is the buttery yellow cumin scented rice, the garlicky chicken with its hit of oregano, the cool garlic-dill sauce and the fiery harissa inspired hot sauce.
Before I go onto the recipe here’s a quick shout out to my friend Maryam who first brought this recipe to my attention and recommended this combination of recipes for the different components. This recipe went viral across facebook groups when the word viral itself was not as common as it is today.
A Note on Sauces
The chicken and rice recipes are often a variation on a theme. While, after having tried a handful, I am quite firm that this version is the best there is, what truly sets this recipe apart are the sauces.
On their own they're good, but together they are phenomenal.
The white sauce get it's signature flavor from the balance between creamy, salt, acid and that fresh tang of dill.
The red sauce relies on a surprising ingredient - caraway seeds aka shahi zeera - for it's depth. This recipe is plenty plenty spicy for me and you can mix the red sauce into your plate according to your preference. I typically serve them on the side so that kids and adults are happy!
Made this dish? Review it below! I always love to hear from you!
Better than Halal Guys Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup light olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ pound chicken breast/boneless thigh diced into 1.5 inch cubes
- Generous dollop yogurt – I used greek since I had it on hand for the white sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
Rice:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cups long-grain or Basmati rice
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth low sodium
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
ER’s White Sauce:
- 10 oz. Greek yogurt
- ½ c. mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp. white vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1.5 Tbsp. lemon juice ½ lemon
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1-2 tsp dill dry or fresh
- 1 tbsp cold water
- Salt to taste
Harissa (Spicy Sauce):
- 10-12 dried red chili peppers (or 2tbsp chilli flakes)
- 7 cloves garlic minced
- ¾-1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1.5 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tbsp vinegar/lemon juice
- Iceberg Lettuce cut into large chunks for serving
Instructions
- Iceberg Lettuce cut into large chunks for serving
For the Chicken
- Combine all the ingredients – minus the chicken in a blender. Blend, taste, season, and marinade the chicken in this mix for 1-4 hours.
- FIrst Method: On a grill pan or a grill, 2-3 minutes on each side, don't overcook!
- Second Method: Cook in a saucepan till tender. The when it's time to eat spread it out on a lightly greased foil lined baking sheet, drizzle with a little oil and broil for 2-3 minutes to char.
For the Rice:
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.
- Add the turmeric and cumin and cook until fragrant, but not browned, about 1 minute.
- Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly toasted, about 4 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes check on it, if the rice has not cooked through then add a splash of water and continue to let it cook tightly covered.
White Sauce:
- Whisk all the ingredients together. Taste, adjust seasoning.
Harissa:
- Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and deseed. Use your kitchen shears to snip the chillies into a small food processor (I used my magic bullet) and blitz with the olive oil.
- Then add the remaining ingredients and blend to form a smooth paste. Taste – adjust seasoning if necessary, mine was pretty spicy so I used it in moderation.
Putting it Together
- When you’re ready to eat then plate your rice, top with chicken, drizzle with white sauce, serve the hot sauce on the side or drizzle it across the top as well. Add some iceberg on the side and enjoy. Mmmmm…
The chicken and rice looks absolutely delicious. My mouth is watering!!!
Thanks Liz!!!
Delicious! Chicken and rice is always a winner, Sarah!
I'm making this tonight. Chicken is marinating in the fridge and I just ate the rice with the white sauce...YUM!!! Can't wait to try the chicken 🙂
ooh I am so excited! was just trying to figure out how much is a reasonable time to wait before making it again 🙂 keep me posted!
That was awesome! The Harissa was really spicy so only my husband had it. I'm thinking of grilling the chicken next time. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying it 🙂 the Harissa was pretty spicy for me too - my FIL loved it though. barbecuing the chicken would make it even yummier!
I've been looking for a good chicken and rice dish and this one looks fabulous! Harissa is one of my favorites sauces.
Hey Sarah, thank you so much! This is one of the yummiest and spiciest Harissa I have had - serves me right for using the dried birds eye chillis! Thanks for stopping by!
Hey sarah, for the chicken broth.. can i use the chicken maggi cubes? If yes, then how many cubes for this recipe?
Hi Lubna! Yes you can! I think it's 1.5 cube maggi with 3.5 cups water!
I made this today and it was FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe 💕
Woohoo!!!! Thank you for sharing here!
Can I use brown rice? If so how would i change the cook time accordingly, thanks!
Hi! You can absolutely use brown rice, but I am not sure about the cook times because every brand behaves differently. When I cook brown rice I usually use the boil and pour excess method so I don't know the exact ratios for if you want the water to cook out and the rice to be nice and fluffy.So sorry about that!
This looks like a great recipe to try out for our Muslim fam, however we will omit the red or white wine vinegar as it's not 100% halal, I'm sure they wouldn't be impressed if I added it. As they say, if in doubt leave it out! I'm sure it doesn't lend a huge flavour profile to the recipe? Any suggested substitutions?
Hi Dahlia! I actually always use white vinegar! That's what I meant when I said white or red wine vinegar but I can see how that may be confusing so I will go change it now. Rest assured white works.
I have made this recipe countless times and alhamd it has always been a hit! I have this in my arsenal of recipes for when i have no idea what to make, but dinner is in an hour! I am never able to marinate it for the time given, so i always just marinate first, make the sauces and rice, and then make the chicken, and it's still SO GOOD! Thank you Sarah!!
Thank you so so much from the bottom of my heart Anam!!! This is SO sweet of you! Sorry about the late reply on this one!
Loved this recipe. I know I have said this before but I’ll say it again thanks for making it so simple yet so flavorful and delicious. Everything from the juicy chicken kebabs to the yummy sauce and to die for buttery rice. This recipe will definitely be a weekly rotation for our family!!! Thanks Sarah xo
Thank you SO SO much Farah for this terribly kind review! made my day!
This is a family favorite in our home!! Turns out perfectly each time - the chicken so tender and the rice so flavorful! Forever grateful for being introduced to it!
Thank you SO SO vey much Saba!
Used this chicken recipe for Tacos..so so soooo good..Thank you
That’s awesome to hear! Thank you!!!
It's a winner recipe !! thank you for this one
yay thank you mishal!
Hi....in chicken u mention the ingredient as corriandet...is it powder or corriandet leaves...plz clarify 🥰 from India
Hi Ayesha! It's powdered - sorry for not clarifying. i've been in Canada for 14 years now and I am so used to thinking of the powder as coriander and the fresh version as cilantro!
would it be ok to use dried oregano if the fresh one isn't available? if yes ,can you advise on the quantity please?
Hi Rochelle! This is one of those recipes where fresh is truly best but if it isn't available then 2 teaspoons of dried works!
Going to try this today. This looks amazing. Thank you for sharing Sarah!
Ooh I am SO glad! It's a family favourite! Let me know what you think 🙂
Hey
I happened across this recipe while looking for Chicken Pulaou recipe I thought I'd let you know that the Halal Bros on 53rd st have completely changed their recipe for the worse it is so bad I had to throw it out. I used to drive an hour to get this food sadly they "killed it " I'm glad I found your recipe I'm going to try it.
Best
Laila
Hey laila - that makes me so sad! I hear the restaurants in the GTA are no good, but I was hoping the original was still great!
Thank you, this was a hit at our annual summer party! I made nine pounds of this chicken ; it turned out beautifully AND tasted amazing. You’ve nailed this one.
Yay! This is probably my favourite recipe on the blog and one I make often for parties too! Thrilled it worked for you!
Hello! I had a question- if for chicken broth I am using the cubes (that are pretty salty to begin with - the knorr Pakistani ones) should I reduce the amount of broth so it’s not super salty ?
Hey Hafsa! I think I use a cube and a half here!
That amount with this much water works for me
I made this last night for my family. Everything turned out really well.
I grilled the chicken thighs whole for that essential char before chopping them up.
The caraway seeds in the harissa add the flavor I’ve been chasing for this sauce.
Oooh I LOVE that you grilled them and I absolutely agree with you on how the caraway seeds give great flavour!
This is a lovely recipe! My son had been wanting to eat halal style chicken and rice and this recipe hit the spot.
Woohoo! This is one of our all time favorites and so I am so happy to hear that!
what is caraway seeds?
Shahi zeera 🙂
Tried it today for iftar and it came out perfect. I’m sure it’s going to be a staple in our house from today.
Thrilled to hear that Asma! Thank you so very much!
This Chicken and Rice recipe is a fantastic way to recreate the iconic flavors of New York City’s halal street food at home. The dish delivers a perfect balance of juicy, marinated chicken, aromatic rice, and creamy, tangy white sauce with a kick of spice from the harissa.
Sana!!! Thank you so so much for this beautiful review!
Trying it again today. What are caraway seeds?
shahi zeera! keep me posted!
I made the rice last night to go with my own sheet-pan chicken shawarma, and it was just perfect.. as are all of your recipes! Thanks again! 👌
You are our family’s go-to for the yummiest, most reliable recipes!
Made this for my family tonight and my 5 year old declared “can you make this every day mama? It’s so good!”
My husband loved it too!!
Thank you for putting this yummy recipe out there!!
My one question is around the hot sauce - when I first blitz with the dried chillies, how much oil should I use? I wonder if I didn’t use enough cuz my hot sauce was more of a paste (flavour was still terrific!)
Your five year old is a kid after my own heart! thank you!!! On the sauce, it definitely is thick. I did thin it out to drizzle over the plate here and I forgot to add that as a note but I will now, good catch!
Good recipe!
Thank you Agnes!!!
Hi - excited to try to make this for the first time. For the white sauce what do you mean by crushed cloves? Would it be ok to mince the garlic and then blend everything?
Yes absolutely! I actually have a garlic press so I use that and then just stir it all together!
I have probably now made this more times than the author! It is that good!
It is simple, flavorful, and comes together so well. My daughter has requested it on multiple occasions. I sometimes omit making the red sauce, as it gets a tad spicy for us, so I use fewer red chilies or sriracha sauce for the spice. Thanks for a great recipe!
What a wonderful review! thank you so much!! re: the spiciness, good notes!