[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":431},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:saleeg":3,"recipe:country:saudi-arabia":212},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"romanized":7,"pronunciation":8,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"emoji":11,"summary":12,"intro":13,"story":14,"whyThis":15,"tips":20,"substitutions":27,"variations":40,"serveWith":50,"storage":52,"faq":53,"equipment":69,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":78,"diet":80,"mainIngredients":84,"ingredients":89,"instructions":160,"nutrition":192,"images":199,"keywords":203,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"saleeg","Saleeg (Hejazi Creamy Milk Rice with Chicken)","سليق","salīq","sah-LEEG","saudi-arabia","Hejaz — Taif, Mecca and Jeddah","🍚","Short-grain rice simmered in cardamom chicken broth and then in milk until it collapses into a soft, porridge-thick bed, topped with browned chicken, hot ghee and a sharp tomato daqoos.","Saleeg is the soft, milky rice dish of the Hejaz, and it is the opposite of every other rice dish in the Gulf. Where kabsa and mandi want separate, dry, individually defined grains, saleeg wants the grains broken down: short rice cooked first in spiced chicken broth, then loosened with hot milk and worked against the side of the pot until it turns creamy and just about pourable. The flavour is deliberately gentle — sweet milk, cardamom, mastic if you have it, the clean savoury depth of long-simmered chicken — and it is woken up at the table by a spoonful of ghee melting on top and a fiery tomato daqoos on the side. It eats like the most comforting thing you have ever put in a bowl, which is exactly its job.","Saleeg belongs to the Hejaz, the western strip of Saudi Arabia that holds Mecca, Medina, Jeddah and Taif, and it is most often attributed to Taif, the cool mountain town above Mecca where families have long escaped the summer heat. It carries a very different accent from the rice cooking of the Najd interior. The Hejaz spent centuries as the arrival point for pilgrims and traders from Egypt, the Levant, Turkey, Persia, India and East Africa, and its kitchen absorbed all of them; saleeg, with its milk, its mastic and its quiet restraint, sits closer to that cosmopolitan, dairy-friendly cooking than to the pure meat-and-rice logic of the desert.\n\nIt is celebration food more than everyday food. Saleeg turns up at weddings and large family gatherings, at Ramadan tables, and at the kind of Friday lunch where a whole chicken or a joint of lamb is set on top of a wide communal platter and everyone eats from the same tray with their right hand. In Hejazi restaurants it is often the Thursday or Friday special, ladled out in enormous quantities and finished with browned chicken pulled off a grill. Because it is soft and mild, it is also the food given to people who need feeding gently — new mothers, the sick, small children — the same role rice porridge plays across most of Asia.\n\nComparisons to risotto get made constantly, and they are useful up to a point: both rely on a starchy short grain releasing its starch into liquid, and both are stirred rather than left alone. But saleeg is not built in ladle-by-ladle stages, is not enriched with cheese or wine, and is not meant to stay al dente. The grain should surrender completely. If your saleeg still has bite, it is undercooked, not restrained — and Hejazi cooks will tell you so.",[16,17,18,19],"Builds the broth and the rice in the same pot, so the chicken flavour ends up inside the grains rather than sitting on top.","Adds the milk hot and in stages, which is what keeps it silky instead of curdled or gluey.","Includes the tomato daqoos, because the mild rice genuinely needs the heat and acid next to it.","Tells you exactly what texture to stop at, the one thing that separates real saleeg from wet rice.",[21,22,23,24,25,26],"Use a short or medium grain — Egyptian rice, Calrose or even risotto rice. Basmati simply refuses to break down and give up its starch.","Rinse the rice only two or three times, not until the water runs clear. You want to lose the dust but keep the surface starch that makes it creamy.","Warm the milk before it goes in. Cold milk hitting hot rice drops the temperature hard and is the most common cause of a grainy, split pot.","Stir often in the last ten minutes and press some of the grains against the side of the pot with the back of the spoon — that mashing is what gives saleeg its body.","Saleeg thickens dramatically as it stands, so pull it off the heat while it still moves like thick porridge and slumps when you tilt the pot.","Do not salt the rice heavily. The seasoning comes from the broth, the ghee and the daqoos, and an over-salted saleeg loses its milky character.",[28,32,36],{"original":29,"swap":30,"note":31},"Whole chicken","Bone-in thighs and drumsticks, or a small joint of lamb shoulder","Bone-in pieces make just as good a broth and cook faster. Lamb saleeg is served in the Hejaz too and needs about 30 minutes longer to simmer.",{"original":33,"swap":34,"note":35},"Mastic (miskah)","Omit it, or add an extra cardamom pod and a small strip of lemon peel","Mastic gives that faintly piney, resinous perfume Hejazi cooks associate with milk dishes. It is worth seeking out at a Middle Eastern grocer, but the dish is still saleeg without it.",{"original":37,"swap":38,"note":39},"Whole milk","Half milk, half single cream, or whole milk with 2 tbsp milk powder whisked in","Restaurant saleeg is often richer than home saleeg. Milk powder is the trick many cooks use to get body without the pot catching.",[41,44,47],{"name":42,"description":43},"Saleeg bil laham","The same rice finished under a slow-cooked lamb shoulder or a few lamb shanks instead of chicken, with the lamb broth doing the first stage of the cooking.",{"name":45,"description":46},"Grilled-top saleeg","The restaurant style: the poached chicken is rubbed with pepper and ghee and blackened over charcoal or under a hot grill, so smoke and char cut through the milky rice.",{"name":48,"description":49},"Saleeg with mushroom broth","A meat-free version built on a strong mushroom and onion stock with the same cardamom, mastic and milk, finished with fried onions instead of chicken.",[51],"Tomato daqoos, a plate of sliced cucumber and mint, and small glasses of unsweetened gahwa afterwards.","Saleeg keeps 3 days refrigerated but sets into a solid block once cold — this is normal. Reheat it in a saucepan over low heat with a good splash of milk or broth, breaking it up with a spoon until it loosens back to a thick, spoonable porridge; a microwave dries the edges and leaves the middle stiff. Keep the chicken separate and reheat it covered so it does not dry out. Freezing works but costs you texture: thawed saleeg turns slightly grainy and needs extra milk and a vigorous stir to come back. The daqoos keeps a week in a jar and improves after a day.",[54,57,60,63,66],{"question":55,"answer":56},"What kind of rice should I use for saleeg?","A short or medium grain that releases starch, such as Egyptian rice, Calrose, or Italian risotto rice like arborio. Long-grain basmati is the wrong choice here: it is bred to stay separate and dry, so it will never break down into the creamy texture the dish is defined by. If basmati is all you have, expect a soupy rice rather than true saleeg.",{"question":58,"answer":59},"Why did my milk curdle in the rice?","Almost always because the milk went in cold, or the pot was boiling hard when it did. Warm the milk first, add it in two or three additions, and keep the pan at a lazy simmer where bubbles break slowly at the surface. Acidic additions are the other culprit, which is why the tomato daqoos is always served on the side rather than stirred through.",{"question":61,"answer":62},"How is saleeg different from kabsa?","They are near opposites. Kabsa uses long-grain basmati cooked in a spiced tomato-and-meat broth so the grains stay dry, loose and separate, and it leans on loomi, black lime and a heavy spice mix. Saleeg uses short rice cooked in broth and milk until it is soft and creamy, and its seasoning is deliberately mild — cardamom, mastic, ghee and little else.",{"question":64,"answer":65},"Can I make saleeg ahead of time?","The broth and the chicken can be done a day ahead and refrigerated separately, which actually improves the broth. The rice stage is best cooked within an hour or two of serving because it stiffens as it cools. If you must reheat it, loosen it in a pan with extra warm milk and stir it back to a thick porridge before it goes to the table.",{"question":67,"answer":68},"What is daqoos and do I have to make it?","Daqoos is the hot tomato sauce served alongside most Saudi rice dishes — grated tomato cooked down with garlic, chilli and cumin until it thickens. You do not strictly have to make it, but saleeg is intentionally mild and the sauce is what provides acidity and heat. Without it many people find the bowl monotonous after a few spoonfuls.",[70,71,72,73],"Large heavy pot or Dutch oven","Wooden spoon","Small saucepan for the daqoos","Oven tray or grill pan",4,20,80,"easy",[79],"main",[81,82,83],"gluten-free","nut-free","halal-friendly",[85,86,87,88],"short-grain-rice","chicken","milk","ghee",[90,95,100,104,107,110,114,118,121,123,128,132,136,139,143,148,151,154,157],{"ref":86,"qty":91,"unit":92,"name":93,"group":94},1.4,"kg","whole chicken, or bone-in thighs and drumsticks","For the broth",{"ref":96,"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":99,"group":94},"onion",1,"piece","onion, halved",{"ref":101,"qty":102,"unit":98,"name":103,"group":94},"cardamom",6,"green cardamom pods, lightly crushed",{"ref":105,"qty":74,"unit":98,"name":106,"group":94},"cloves","whole cloves",{"ref":108,"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":109,"group":94},"cinnamon","cinnamon stick",{"ref":111,"qty":112,"unit":98,"name":113,"group":94},"bay-leaf",2,"bay leaves",{"ref":115,"qty":97,"unit":116,"name":117,"group":94},"black-pepper","tsp","black peppercorns",{"qty":112,"unit":119,"name":120,"group":94},"l","water",{"qty":112,"unit":116,"name":122,"group":94},"fine salt",{"ref":85,"qty":124,"unit":125,"name":126,"group":127},400,"g","short-grain rice (Egyptian, Calrose or arborio)","For the rice",{"ref":87,"qty":129,"unit":130,"name":131,"group":127},750,"ml","whole milk, warmed",{"qty":112,"unit":98,"name":133,"optional":134,"note":135,"group":127},"mastic tears, crushed with a pinch of sugar",true,"miskah — sold at Middle Eastern grocers",{"ref":88,"qty":74,"unit":137,"name":88,"group":138},"tbsp","To finish",{"ref":140,"qty":74,"unit":98,"name":141,"group":142},"tomato","ripe tomatoes, coarsely grated","For the daqoos",{"ref":144,"qty":145,"unit":146,"name":147,"group":142},"garlic",3,"clove","garlic, crushed",{"ref":149,"qty":97,"unit":137,"name":150,"group":142},"tomato-paste","tomato paste",{"ref":152,"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":153,"group":142},"green-chili","green chilli, finely chopped",{"ref":155,"qty":97,"unit":116,"name":156,"group":142},"cumin","ground cumin",{"ref":158,"qty":112,"unit":137,"name":159,"group":142},"olive-oil","olive oil",[161,166,169,173,177,181,185,189],{"title":162,"text":163,"timerSeconds":164,"tip":165},"Simmer the chicken","Put the chicken in a large pot with the onion, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt and 2 litres of water. Bring to a boil, skim off the grey foam that rises in the first few minutes, then drop to a bare simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes, until a leg pulls away easily from the body.",2700,"Skim properly. Anything you leave floating now ends up as a muddy film on your finished rice.",{"title":167,"text":168},"Lift out the chicken and strain","Move the chicken to a tray and strain the broth through a sieve, discarding the whole spices. Measure out 1.2 litres of hot broth for the rice and keep the rest to loosen the pot later — you will almost certainly want it.",{"title":170,"text":171,"timerSeconds":172},"Start the rice in broth","Rinse {qty:short-grain-rice} of rice two or three times in cool water, drain, and tip it into the rinsed-out pot with the measured hot broth and the crushed mastic. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until most of the broth is absorbed and the grains have swollen.",900,{"title":174,"text":175,"tip":176},"Add the milk in stages","Pour in half the warmed milk and stir. Keep the pan at a slow simmer where bubbles rise lazily, and as the rice drinks it up add the rest of the milk in two more additions, stirring often so nothing catches on the base.","If the surface ever looks like it is boiling hard, pull the pot half off the burner — a rolling boil is what splits the milk.",{"title":178,"text":179,"timerSeconds":180},"Work it creamy","Cook for a further 20 minutes, pressing some of the grains against the side of the pot with the back of the spoon as you stir. It is ready when the rice has lost all bite, the mixture drops off the spoon in a soft sheet, and a spoon dragged across the base leaves a track that closes slowly.",1200,{"title":182,"text":183,"timerSeconds":184},"Brown the chicken","While the rice finishes, rub the drained chicken with 1 tablespoon of the ghee and a heavy grind of black pepper and put it under a hot grill or in a 220°C oven for 10–12 minutes, until the skin blisters and goes deep golden in patches. It should smell toasted, not just hot.",660,{"title":186,"text":187,"timerSeconds":188},"Make the daqoos","Heat the olive oil in a small pan, fry the garlic and green chilli for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add the tomato paste and grated tomatoes with the cumin and a pinch of salt. Simmer 10 minutes until it darkens and thickens enough to hold a line when you draw the spoon through it.",600,{"title":190,"text":191},"Serve on one platter","Spread the saleeg across a wide platter, sit the browned chicken in the middle, and melt the remaining ghee and pour it over the rice so it pools in the dips. Serve straight away with the daqoos in a bowl on the side, and loosen any rice that stiffens with a splash of hot broth.",{"calories":193,"protein":194,"carbs":195,"fat":196,"fiber":145,"sugar":197,"sodium":198,"estimated":134},780,46,88,27,12,720,[200],{"src":201,"alt":202},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaleeg\u002Fhero.svg","Wide platter of creamy Saudi saleeg rice topped with browned whole chicken and melted ghee, tomato daqoos alongside",[4,204,205,206,207,208,209],"saudi rice","hejazi food","milk rice","chicken and rice","taif","daqoos","2026-08-21","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":213,"total":244,"page":97,"limit":429,"hasMore":430},[214,237,261,284,291,316,340,362,386,406],{"slug":215,"title":216,"nativeName":217,"countrySlug":9,"region":218,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":219,"difficulty":220,"course":221,"diet":222,"mainIngredients":223,"images":226,"keywords":230,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"jareesh","Jareesh (Crushed Wheat and Lamb Porridge)","جريش","Najd (central Saudi Arabia)",110,"medium",[79],[83],[224,225,96,88],"lamb","buttermilk",[227],{"src":228,"alt":229},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fjareesh\u002Fhero.svg","Wide bowl of Saudi jareesh — creamy pale crushed-wheat porridge with shredded lamb, topped with deep brown fried onions in melted ghee",[215,231,232,233,234,235,236],"saudi arabia","crushed wheat","lamb porridge","najdi","laban","ramadan food",{"slug":238,"title":239,"nativeName":240,"countrySlug":9,"region":241,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":242,"cookMinutes":243,"restMinutes":244,"difficulty":220,"course":245,"diet":246,"mainIngredients":248,"images":250,"keywords":254,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"saudi-kabsa","Kabsa (Saudi Spiced Rice with Chicken)","كبسة","Nationwide, with a Najdi core",25,75,10,[79],[83,247,81],"dairy-free",[86,249,140,101],"basmati-rice",[251],{"src":252,"alt":253},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-kabsa\u002Fhero.svg","Wide platter of Saudi kabsa — golden spiced basmati rice topped with browned chicken pieces, raisins and toasted almonds, with a bowl of red daqoos sauce beside it",[255,231,256,207,257,258,259,260],"kabsa","spiced rice","dried lime","loomi","gulf cuisine","one pot",{"slug":262,"title":263,"nativeName":264,"countrySlug":9,"region":265,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":266,"cookMinutes":267,"restMinutes":268,"difficulty":269,"course":270,"diet":271,"mainIngredients":272,"images":273,"keywords":277,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"saudi-mandi","Mandi (Pit-Smoked Lamb and Rice)","مندي","Southern Saudi Arabia and the Hejaz",30,200,15,"hard",[79],[83,247,81],[224,249,101,88],[274],{"src":275,"alt":276},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-mandi\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of Saudi mandi — pale saffron-marbled basmati rice topped with falling-apart smoked lamb shoulder, slivered almonds and raisins",[278,231,279,280,281,282,283],"mandi","smoked lamb","lamb and rice","yemeni","charcoal smoking","one pot feast",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"romanized":7,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":285,"diet":286,"mainIngredients":287,"images":288,"keywords":290,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},[79],[81,82,83],[85,86,87,88],[289],{"src":201,"alt":202},[4,204,205,206,207,208,209],{"slug":292,"title":293,"nativeName":294,"countrySlug":9,"region":295,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":296,"cookMinutes":268,"restMinutes":296,"difficulty":77,"course":297,"diet":299,"mainIngredients":302,"images":305,"keywords":309,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"saudi-gahwa","Saudi Gahwa (Cardamom Coffee)","قهوة عربية","Nationwide",5,[298],"drink",[300,301,81,247,83],"vegan","vegetarian",[101,303,105,304],"saffron","dates",[306],{"src":307,"alt":308},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-gahwa\u002Fhero.svg","A brass dallah pouring pale gold Saudi gahwa into a small handleless cup beside a plate of dates",[310,311,312,313,314,315],"gahwa","arabic coffee","saudi coffee","cardamom coffee","dallah","saffron coffee",{"slug":317,"title":318,"nativeName":319,"countrySlug":9,"region":320,"baseServings":102,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":242,"restMinutes":321,"difficulty":77,"course":322,"diet":325,"mainIngredients":326,"images":329,"keywords":333,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"saudi-luqaimat","Saudi Luqaimat (Syrup-Soaked Dough Balls)","لقيمات","Nationwide, especially in Ramadan",90,[323,324],"dessert","snack",[301],[327,328,101,303],"flour","yeast",[330],{"src":331,"alt":332},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-luqaimat\u002Fhero.svg","A plate of golden luqaimat dough balls glazed in dark syrup and scattered with sesame seeds and pistachios",[334,335,336,337,338,339],"luqaimat","saudi dessert","ramadan sweets","fried dough balls","date syrup","gulf dessert",{"slug":341,"title":342,"nativeName":343,"countrySlug":9,"region":344,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":244,"cookMinutes":296,"difficulty":77,"course":345,"diet":347,"mainIngredients":348,"images":353,"keywords":357,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"masoub","Saudi Masoub (Banana and Bread Pudding)","معصوب","Hejaz — Jeddah and Mecca",[346,323],"breakfast",[301],[349,350,351,352],"banana","pita-bread","heavy-cream","honey",[354],{"src":355,"alt":356},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmasoub\u002Fhero.svg","A bowl of Saudi masoub, mashed banana and bread topped with cream, honey drizzle and crushed pistachios",[341,358,359,205,360,361],"saudi breakfast","banana bread pudding","jeddah","ramadan dessert",{"slug":363,"title":364,"nativeName":365,"romanized":366,"countrySlug":9,"region":344,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":367,"cookMinutes":266,"restMinutes":368,"difficulty":220,"course":369,"diet":371,"mainIngredients":372,"images":376,"keywords":380,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"saudi-mutabbaq","Saudi Mutabbaq (Folded Meat-Stuffed Pancake)","مطبق","muṭabbaq",40,120,[370],"street-food",[247,82,83],[327,373,374,375],"ground-beef","leek","eggs",[377],{"src":378,"alt":379},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-mutabbaq\u002Fhero.svg","Square of Saudi mutabbaq cut open to show spiced minced beef, leek and set egg inside a crisp blistered pastry",[381,382,383,384,236,360,385],"mutabbaq","murtabak","saudi street food","stuffed pancake","minced beef pastry",{"slug":387,"title":388,"nativeName":389,"countrySlug":9,"region":390,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":242,"cookMinutes":266,"restMinutes":321,"difficulty":220,"course":391,"diet":393,"mainIngredients":394,"images":396,"keywords":400,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"tamees","Saudi Tamees (Tandoor Flatbread)","تميس","Riyadh and Jeddah bakeries",[392],"bread",[301,83],[327,328,87,395],"sesame-seeds",[397],{"src":398,"alt":399},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftamees\u002Fhero.svg","A wide round of Saudi tamees flatbread with deep finger grooves, blistered golden top and sesame seeds",[387,401,402,403,404,405],"saudi bread","tandoor flatbread","afghan naan","breakfast bread","flatbread recipe",{"slug":407,"title":408,"nativeName":409,"romanized":410,"countrySlug":9,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":268,"cookMinutes":411,"difficulty":77,"course":412,"diet":414,"mainIngredients":415,"images":417,"keywords":421,"publishedAt":210,"updatedAt":210,"authorSlug":211},"shorbat-freekeh","Shorbat Freekeh (Saudi Smoked Green Wheat Soup)","شوربة فريكة","shorbat farīkah",55,[413],"soup",[247,82,83],[224,140,96,155,416],"stock",[418],{"src":419,"alt":420},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fshorbat-freekeh\u002Fhero.svg","Bowl of thick Saudi freekeh soup with lamb, green wheat grains and parsley, lemon wedge and dates alongside",[422,423,424,425,426,427,428],"shorbat freekeh","freekeh soup","green wheat","ramadan soup","saudi soup","iftar","lamb soup",24,false,1787360064190]