Makaronia Horiatikia (called Magarına Bulli by Turkish-Cypriots, meaning 'pasta with bird') is the everyday Cypriot village dish — boiled chicken, macaroni cooked in the chicken broth, topped with grated halloumi, dried mint, and lemon. The simplest of Cypriot meals, it is the most representative of village home cooking, eaten by both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot families.
Makaronia Horiatikia (Greek-Cypriot, 'village macaroni'; Turkish-Cypriot name Magarına Bulli, 'pasta with bird') is the everyday home dish of both Cypriot communities — simpler and more representative of village life than the restaurant-facing makaronia tou fournou (baked pasta). The dish is just boiled chicken, pasta cooked in the chicken broth, and a topping of grated halloumi, dried mint, and lemon. Vittles Magazine notes it is 'more truly representative of everyday Cypriot village home cooking' than any restaurant dish. The halloumi-and-mint-and-lemon finish is distinctively Cypriot — the combination found nowhere else in the Mediterranean.
A bowl of pasta cooked in golden chicken broth, with a piece of tender boiled chicken, showered with grated halloumi that melts slightly, dried mint, and a squeeze of lemon. The broth has soaked into every strand; the halloumi is salty and stretchy; the mint and lemon make it bright. It is the most comforting, most everyday Cypriot meal.
The dish is built on one pot: the chicken is boiled first (creating the broth), then removed; the pasta is cooked in the same broth (absorbing the chicken flavor). The key is to cook the pasta until the broth is nearly absorbed — it should be moist but not soupy. The topping is added at the table: grated halloumi (which melts slightly from the heat), dried mint (not fresh — the dried mint is the Cypriot tradition), and a generous squeeze of lemon. The chicken is served alongside or shredded into the pasta.
Variations
Some shred the chicken into the pasta; some add a little chicken stock cube; the pasta shape varies; some use vermicelli.
On the Palate
Where Makaronia Horiatikia sits in the Cypriot flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 35 min active + 25 min waiting
- 15 min
Place 1 whole chicken (1.5 kg) in a pot; cover with water; add 1 onion, 2 bay leaves, and salt.
- 245 min
Bring to a boil; skim; simmer 45 minutes until tender.
Watch outSkim off the gray foam as the chicken comes to a boil — clearing it early keeps the broth clean and clear instead of cloudy and muddy.
- 35 min
Remove the chicken; strain the broth; measure 1 liter.
- 43 min
Return the broth to the pot; bring to a boil.
- 512 min
Add 400 g macaroni (or bucatini); cook in the broth 10-12 minutes until al dente and the broth is mostly absorbed.
Watch outCook the pasta in the broth until al dente and the liquid is nearly all drunk up — it should be moist and glossy, not soupy or dry.
- 63 min
Shred the chicken meat off the bone.
- 72 min
To serve: plate the pasta; top with shredded chicken; shower with grated halloumi and dried mint; squeeze lemon over.
- 81 min
Eat immediately, while the halloumi melts.
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