Suqaar Digaag (Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Sauté)

Name: Suqaar Digaag (Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Sauté)
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed; 1 medium red onion, halved and sliced; 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced into bite-size pieces; 1/2 lemon, juiced; ½ teaspoon hot, sweet or smoked paprika; ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade xawaash blend (see Tip); Fine sea salt; 4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced; 1 small jalapeño (optional), stemmed and halved; 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced; 1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced; 1 handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped; Flatbread (such as anjero or sabaayad) or rice and salad, for serving (optional)

By Ifrah F. Ahmed

Published March 3, 2023

Suqaar Digaag (Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Sauté) — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(419)
Comments: Read comments

A popular part of Somali cuisine, suqaar is a meat-and-vegetable dish that comes together quickly as a weeknight meal. Among different variations, the most common are hilib (camel or beef) and digaag (chicken). Seasoned with Somalia’s famous xawaash spice blend of warm cumin, coriander and other aromatic spices, this dish weaves layers of flavor into each tender bite of chicken. If you want a bit of heat, be sure to add the optional jalapeño. Chicken suqaar tastes as good with flatbreads like anjero as it does spooned over rice with a side of salad. If you want to enjoy this another way, serve it with Somali-style rice and bananas.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
1medium red onion, halved and sliced
1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced into bite-size pieces
½lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon hot, sweet or smoked paprika
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
2teaspoons store-bought or homemade xawaash blend (see Tip)
Fine sea salt
4 to 5garlic cloves, minced
1small jalapeño (optional), stemmed and halved
1medium red bell pepper, sliced
1medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
1handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Flatbread (such as anjero or sabaayad) or rice and salad, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm up 2 tablespoons oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6 to 7 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the chicken, lemon juice, paprika, black pepper, 1 teaspoon xawaash blend and 1 teaspoon salt; mix until evenly coated.
Step 3
Once the onion finishes cooking, add the garlic and jalapeño (if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and turn up the heat to medium-high. Let the chicken cook, undisturbed, until it is cooked almost all the way through, 4 to 5 minutes, then stir the chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer until it is cooked through and browned.
Step 4
Add the bell peppers, cilantro and remaining 1 teaspoon xawaash blend and mix together. If you need a little more oil, add a drizzle. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid and let the suqaar cook, stirring occasionally, until the bell peppers become tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt if you’d like.
Step 5
Serve the chicken suqaar with a flatbread of your choice, or over rice and with a salad. Chicken suqaar can last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Tip

To prepare your own xawaash blend, add 4 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant, then stir in ½ teaspoon ground turmeric. Makes 6 teaspoons.

Ratings

5 out of 5

419 user ratings

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Comments

Jamaican T2 years ago

I tried this last night - had to make my own xawaash per the tip at the bottom as I didn’t have any. It was delish and I will definitely be making it again. I did not change a thing.

Stephen1 year ago

Amazing recipe. I make the spice blend in the note and use all of it on the chicken thighs. (If I have the foresight I will rub it on the thighs in the morning and put it in the fridge until I’m ready to make later). I also tend to throw in anything else I might have lying around — spinach, chickpeas, mushrooms, etc. One thing I always add is a preserved lemon from my fridge, chopped. Takes the dish over the top.

Annie Nord2 years ago

I followed the recipe, exactly. That is a challenge for me but I did it. It was delicious!

Lil1 week ago

I made this according to recipe. Delicious!! But I dont understand why the jalapeño is halved rather than sliced. (Im not a great cook but Im a great recipe follower.)

Lunasmom11 month ago

This was great! I bought a xawaash blend off of Amazon, but I think it was old as flavor was bland. I added a dash of cayenne and some lemon pepper and bumped lemon juice up to a whole lemon. Next time will marinate the chicken longer, but very pretty and tasty!

mzwasp1 month ago

This was SO delicious! I only had bone-in chicken thighs (removed the skin). And I discovered mid-prep that the my fresh cardamom had not arrived while the old cardomom had been tossed as stale (confirming all my suspicions of de-hoarding) so used a wonderful Seti Berbere spice mix from the Curio Spice Co in lieu of Xawaash blend. I think it's probably a similiar melody in a different key and look forward to making the recipe exactly as written, but oh boy this was good.

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