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Ferakh bel batates, the classic Egyptian chicken and potato bake, is the ultimate comfort food. This beloved crowd-pleaser combines tender, oven-roasted chicken with golden, perfectly cooked potatoes, all bathed in a rich, creamy tomato sauce.
What is Ferakh Bel Batates
Ferakh means chicken, bel batates means with potatoes. This beloved Egyptian chicken and potato bake, is comfort food at its finest, a dish that embodies the warmth of home and the taste of Egyptian tradition. It’s a recipe woven through generations, with every family adding their unique touch to this timeless classic. Tender chicken mingles with soft, golden potatoes, all bathed in a creamy red tomato sauce spiked with warm spices. For many Egyptians, Ferakh bel Batates is more than a meal—it’s a piece of home, a nostalgic reminder of family gatherings, and a taste of heritage that brings comfort to the soul.
What is Egyptian Tasbika (Flavorful Tomato Sauce)
Egyptian tasbika (تسبيكة) refers to a foundational cooking technique used to make rich, flavor-concentrated sauces or stews such as okra stew (bamya). Tasbika is often a slowly simmered base of tomatoes, onions, and garlic, with spices like cumin and coriander. The goal is to reduce the mixture to a thick, deep-flavored sauce, often with a caramelized, slightly sweet profile.
Admittedly, Ginger, turmeric, pepper paste and cream are alien ingredients to traditional Egyptian tasbika. However, I find these unusual additions being significant to the depth of flavor, nutrition value and the overall dish esthetics.
Ferakh Bel Batates at a Glance
- Cuisine: Egyptian cuisine
- Primary Cooking Method: Stove top & oven
- Dietary info: Gluten-free
- Key Flavor: Deeply aromatic and earthy, built on a foundation of ginger, garlic, onions, and warming spices like cumin and coriander.
- Skill Level: Intermediate
Why Ferakh Bel Batates is Special
- Simple: Ferakh bel batates is a meal that doesn’t require extravagant ingredients but delivers incredible flavor through simple spices, fresh vegetables, and slow roasting.
- Signature Dish: Each family brings its own touch to ferakh bel batates, creating a unique, heirloom quality to every recipe.
- Crowd Pleaser: The dish embodies the importance of gathering and sharing in Egyptian culture—it’s a meal that’s meant to be eaten together, evoking laughter, conversation, and love around the table.
- Nourishing: Ferakh bel batates is a gluten-free free dish that carries a significant good nutrition value.
Ingredients for Ferakh Bel Batates
- Chicken Hens: Use all natural tiny chicken as they are tender, cook fast and are hormones free. See notes.
- Potatoes: Use golden potatoes as they have buttery flavor and medium starch content that results in a creamy, rich texture.
- Dry Brine: Ditch the wet brine and use this simple yet powerful dry brine of salt, pepper and lemon zest. It strips the gamey flavor and significantly tenderizes the flesh.
- Lemon and Lime: Use the lime for jazzing the tasbika and the lemon zest in the dry brine.
- Onions: Use yellow onions, and let them sauté in the mixture of oil and butter over low heat to impart their flavors in the sauce.
- Garlic: Use any type of fresh garlic, not frozen. Minced it with a sharp knife or in a food processor.
- Oil: Use olive oil as it impart a lovely fruity note in the tasbika (red tomato sauce).
- Butter: Use butter either in the sauce and to dot the chicken before baking as it keeps the flesh moist and help to brown and crisp up the skin.
- Pepper paste: Use this levantine ingredient to impart the dish with natural sweetness balanced by a mild to medium heat, depending on the type of peppers used.
- Passata: Use store-bought tomato passata or grated large tomato.
- Ginger: While it is not a traditional Egyptian ingredient in this dish, I love to use it to increase the nutrition value and give it a warm, spicy, and slightly sweet, with a bright, zesty undertone that brings both heat and freshness.
- Turmeric: Use Turmeric for its earthy, slightly bitter notes complement the natural acidity of tomatoes
- Spices: Cumin, coriander, sumac, cinnamon, paprika and oregano jazz up the flavor and takes it to the next level.
- Salt: Use salt library but with moderation so it doesn’t overpower the overall dish when assembled.
- Pomegranate Molasses: Pomegranate molasses can transform a Tasbika by adding a unique depth and tangy sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
Popular Substitutions & Additions of Ferakh Bel Batates
- Green hot pepper: Amp up the heat by adding a hot green chil.
- Tomato-free marinade and sauce: Some Egyptian families never use tomato in their sauce or marinade for ferakh bel batates.
How to Make Ferakh Bel Batates
Step 1: Dry Brine the Chicken
Rub the chicken thoroughly with the dry brine over and under the skin. Cover it with a plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 3 hours minimum and up to 8 hours. It is best to butterfly the chicken to ensure even and faster cooking. Watch how to butterfly a chicken.
Step 2: Make the Tasbika (red tomato sauce)
In a hot skillet, add the oil and butter. Once the butter melts, add the sprig of thyme or rosemary and let it impart its herbal notes in the oil-butter mixture. Remove the herb before it burns and turns black. Add the chopped onion and let it sweat over low heat for 1-2 minutes, until it becomes a light golden color. Stir in the minced garlic, sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in the pepper paste, stir for 1 minute and then add the rest of the ingredients. Add water, lime juice and pomegranate molasses. Let the red sauce cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, to reduce and concentrate the flavors. Add the cream to the tasbika (red sauce). Let the tasbika cool down slightly and add it to a blender or Nutri Bullet, and blend to a smooth creamy sauce.
Step 3: Assemble Ferakh Bel Batates
Wipe the roasting pan (pick one that is designed for stove top as well as oven) with some butter. Arrange the sliced potatoes on top. Pour half the quantity of tasbika over the potatoes. Arrange the chicken on top and pour the rest of the sauce on top of the chicken.
Step 4: Cook Ferakh Bel Batates
Next, bring ferakh bel batates to a vigorous boil over medium-high heat on stove top for 5 minutes and let it cook for another 10 minutes on medium-low, and then transfer to a preheated oven at 400 F°, for 45-55 mins. Finally, to check if the dish is fully cooked, ensure the potatoes are fork-tender and the juices run clear from the thickest part of the chicken when poked with a knife, with no sight of chicken blood.
What to Serve With Ferakh Bel Batates
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can I make tasbika in advance?
Yes, you can make tasbika ahead and keep it in the fridge for 1-2 days, or store in the freezer in ziplocks for up to two weeks.
Q2: How many times I can reheat chicken and how to reheat it?
Caution: Chicken should only be reheated once after its initial cooking, as repeated reheating increases the risk of bacterial growth. To safely reheat, transfer the chicken to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Ensure it’s thoroughly heated before serving to prevent any risk of harmful bacteria.
More Egyptian Chicken recipes:
Ferakh Bel Batates Recipe (Egyptian Chicken-Potato Bake): صينية فراخ بالبطاطس
Equipment
- 1 Roaster/Baking Pan 12" x 7.8” non stick, stove top and oven safe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken Hens, butterflied (spatchcock)
- 2 teaspoons dry brine, recipe follows
- 1 cup tasbika, recipe follows
- 2-3 sliced golden potatoes, 0.5" thick
Dry Brine
- 1 teaspoon fine Himalayan salt (pink salt)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest , from unsprayed (unwaxed) lemon
Tasbika (red tomato sauce)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, organic and cold pressed
- 1 tablespoon butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or thyme
- 1 tablespoon red pepper paste or 1 chopped roasted red bell pepper, see notes
- 1 medium tomato or 1/4 cup passata
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 piece fresh turmeric
- 1 piece ginger, 0.5” X 0.5”
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ cup room temperature water
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- ¼ cup whipping cream
Instructions
Step 1: Dry brine the chicken hens.
- Rub the chicken thoroughly with the dry brine over and under the skin. Cover it with a plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 3 hours minimum and up to 8 hours. Before you assemble the dish (step 3), rinse the chicken under tap water and tap it dry with kitchen paper.
Step 2: Make the tasbika (Egyptian red tomato sauce).
- In a hot skillet, add the oil and butter. Once the butter melts, add the sprig of thyme or rosemary and let it impart its herbal notes in the hotel-butter mixture. Remove the herb before it burns and turns black. Add the chopped onion and let it sweat over low heat until it becomes a light golden color. Stir in the garlic, sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in the pepper paste, stir for 1 minute and then add the rest of the ingredients. Add water, lime juice and pomegranate molasses. Let the red sauce cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, until it reduces and the flavors concentrate. Add the cream. Let the tasbika cool down slightly, and then blend it in a Nutri Bullet to end up with a smooth creamy sauce.
Step 3: Assemble ferakh bel batates.
- Wipe the bottom of roasting pan with some butter. Arrange the sliced potatoes on top. Pour half the quantity of the sauce over the potatoes. Arrange the chicken on top and pour the rest of the sauce on top of the chicken.
Step 4: Cook ferakh bel batates.
- Bring Ferakh Bel Batates to a vigorous boil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes and let it cook for another 10 minutes on medium-low and then transfer to a preheated oven at 400 F°, for 45-55 mins. This dish is fully cooked when the potatoes are fork tender and the juices run clear from the thickest part of the chicken when poked with a knife, with no sight of any chicken blood.
Nermine's Notes
- This iconic Egyptian dish is cooked in a traditional aluminum pan that is hard to find elsewhere but Egypt. The best alternative is this roasting pan.
- Butterfly the chicken so they evenly cook in shorter time.
- Chicken can be safely reheated once after its initial cooking. Repeated reheating increases the risk of bacterial growth, especially for proteins like chicken, which can develop harmful bacteria if not properly stored and reheated. To reheat chicken, place it in a microwave resistant dish and heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
- You can make the tasbika (reduced tomato sauce) 1-2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge, or freeze it for up to 1 month.
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