Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
One of the things I miss most about NYC is the halal cart chicken and rice so let’s make it at home and even better! You’ll want to smother the white sauce over everything!
To make this recipe, I took a look at how Halal Guys makes their secret white sauce. The ingredients on their packet indicate that it is just mayonnaise, black pepper, and some other spices. After trying this out, I felt like the sauce could be so much better. The addition of toum/garlic spread takes this sauce to the next level!
You can always tweak this dish to include gyro or steak shawarma instead of chicken!
Main Course
Halal Cart Bowls
Ingredients
Yellow Rice
- 2 cups Basmati rice
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons ghee or unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 bay leaf
Chicken Shawarma
- 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless & skinless
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons allspice
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- oil for frying chicken
White Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup toum/garlic spread
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- water to thin out 2-4 tablespoons
Toppings
- iceberg lettuce shredded
- tomatoes diced
- pita bread sliced
- sriracha or hot sauce of choice
Instructions
White Sauce
- Whisk together mayo, toum, sour cream, black pepper, lemon juice, sugar, and water to desired consistency until smooth. Set aside.
Chicken Shawarma
- To a large bowl, add the chicken thighs, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and spices. Mix to marinade evenly. For more flavor, you can score the chicken before marinading and let it sit overnight or for at least half an hour.
- Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or pan over high heat. Add the chicken and cook on each side until a nice brown crust develops, about 4 minutes on each side. Then turn the heat to low and cover to cook for a few minutes more until cooked in the center.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Once cooled to touch, chop into small pieces.
- Optional: Add the chopped chicken back to the pan and give it a quick fry for extra flavor.
Yellow Rice
- Wash rice for 2 minutes with warm water or until the water runs clear. Another option is to let it soak in water for 30 minutes and then drain.
- To a pot over medium heat, add the ghee or butter. Then, add the rice and toast it for about 3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth, turmeric, oregano, cumin, salt, and bay leaf. Mix together and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to simmer, cover, and cook for about 11-12 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave covered for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, take off the lid, remove the bay leaf, and fluff with a fork.
Assembly
- In a plate, add rice, chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, and pita bread. Drizzle tons of white sauce and some hot sauce on top.
You Might Also Like
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?
HI, I’M HAJAR
Welcome to Moribyan! This is my blog where I love to share all my favorite recipes and lifestyle tips with you all. If I’m not cooking here, I’m either at Trader Joe’s, the gym, or eating a bagel.
LET’S CONNECT
Pin This Recipe
I absolutely love this recipe. The flavors are amazing! I have served it too quite a few friends and family. The nice thing is, you can make a huge batch of it for a large crowd. I gave it five stars, but the star rating didn’t work.
This is a stellar recipe. Absolutely loved it. This recipe made me finally attempt making toom at home. It was a challenge but totally worth it. It made the white sauce more authentic. Thanks you 👍 so much.
This was sooo delicious and satisfying. Thank you!
I just want to say thank you for sharing this recipe. I have made it multiple times for my friends and family and they all love it. Appreciate you sharing your recipes. Thanks again!
Fantastic Recipe – Love it! The only thing I changed is the white sauce. I add some salt and a tablespoon of white vinegar.
We always grill the chicken, and use garlic paste vs toum, but it’s always stellar. One of my favorite meals.
I come back to this recipe a lot for the rice. I have made the full recipe and it is delicious. For the rice, I shortcut and don’t do the toasting. Still add all the ingredients and cook a little longer. Yummy yellow rice!
Amazing recipe, very delicious ! Toum is the magic ingredient for the white sauce, the flavour compliments everything on the plate. My husband and I both formerly from NYC, he is from Queens and I from Brooklyn. We both missed the Halal Cart from those late summer night in Manhattan. This wonderful dish took us back to those times ! I grilled the chicken thighs & made the white sauce & sessoned basmati rice , my husband made Turkish bread fresh hot out of the oven & it all came together wonderfully . I like my plate with extra white sauce and a touch of hot pepper sauce .. my husband takes it with just white sauce. Thank you for this tasty recipe !
Perhaps the best bowl I have ever made! Chicken is easy and fabulous! Will be added to the regular rotation.
So so good! Our family loves your recipes, Hajar! This is one of our faves from your site.