Hamam Mahshi

The cavity is filled only two-thirds, because green freekeh swells and will split a bird that is packed.

Not vegetarian — contains pigeon.

Ingredients

the birds

• 4 pigeons, cleaned
• 2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 60 g butter, softened

the stuffing

• 250 g green freekeh, rinsed
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons salt
• black pepper

the broth

• 1 onion, halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1.5 litres water

Method

1. THE CAVITY IS FILLED ONLY TWO-THIRDS, because green freekeh swells and will split a bird that is packed. Freekeh roughly doubles as it cooks and a pigeon is a small, thin-skinned bird with no give in it at all. Two-thirds looks mean when you are doing it and is exactly right; filled to the opening, the skin tears along the breast within half an hour and the stuffing boils out into the pot. The opening is then closed with a cocktail stick or a stitch rather than tied, so there is somewhere for a little pressure to go.
2. THE FREEKEH GOES IN RAW AND PART-COOKS IN THE BIRD. Rinsed, mixed with softened onion and spice, and stuffed raw. It finishes inside the pigeon, taking up the bird's own fat and juices, which is where the dish gets its flavour. Pre-cooked stuffing is just a side dish that happens to be inside a bird.
3. IT IS GREEN FREEKEH AND NOT CRACKED WHEAT. Roasted green durum, which smells strongly smoky and tastes of it. That smokiness against pigeon is the point of the pairing; plain bulgur makes a perfectly nice stuffed bird that is not this dish.
4. THE BIRDS ARE POACHED FIRST AND ROASTED AFTER. Forty-five minutes at a bare simmer in an aromatic broth, then lifted out, dried, buttered and roasted hot for fifteen or twenty minutes to brown. Pigeon is lean and sinewy and roasting alone from raw gives a dry bird with a raw stuffing; poaching cooks it through gently and cooks the freekeh, and the roast is only for colour and crisp skin.
5. THEY ARE RUBBED WITH SALT AND VINEGAR AND RINSED FIRST. Inside and out, then rinsed well. It cleans the cavity and takes the edge off the gaminess, which in pigeon is pronounced.
6. THEY ARE DRIED THOROUGHLY BEFORE THE OVEN. Patted dry, then left ten minutes in the air. Wet skin steams and stays pale however hot the oven.
7. THE POACHING BROTH IS KEPT AND SERVED ALONGSIDE. Strained into cups. It is full of pigeon and freekeh and is part of the meal rather than a by-product.
8. The pigeons rubbed inside and out with the COARSE SALT and VINEGAR, then RINSED WELL.
9. The 4 tablespoons of butter melted and the onions softened 10 MINUTES, then mixed with the RAW rinsed freekeh, spices and seasoning. Cooled.
10. Each bird filled only TWO-THIRDS FULL and the opening closed with a cocktail stick or a stitch. NOT tied tight.
11. Lowered into the water with the halved onion, bay, cinnamon and cardamom.
12. Simmered at a BARE TREMBLE 45 MINUTES.
13. Lifted out, PATTED DRY and left 10 MINUTES in the air.
14. Rubbed all over with the softened butter.
15. Roasted at 220°C for 15 to 20 MINUTES, until browned and the skin crisp.
16. TESTED: the freekeh should be fully swollen and the skin unbroken. A split bird was overfilled.
17. Served with the strained broth alongside.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Egypt · All recipes