Saloonat Diyay

Easy·25 min active + 35 min resting

Qatar's everyday chicken-and-vegetable curry — chicken pieces simmered with potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, baharat, turmeric, and loomi into a hearty saloona stew. Served with rice or khubz. The Qatari weeknight family dinner; quick, fresh, deeply-spiced.

Saloonat diyay is the Qatari version of the universal Gulf saloona — the everyday family stew. The Qatari version uses chicken more than lamb (reflecting Qatari preference for chicken in everyday cooking).

Saloonat diyay — tender chicken in tomato-baharat-loomi broth with potatoes and peppers. Quick, fresh, the everyday Qatari family weeknight comfort.

Adding vegetables later preserves texture. Loomi provides tang. Quick weeknight version of slower machboos.

Variations

Saloonat lahm (lamb). Vegetarian saloona. Modern Doha versions.

On the Palate

Where Saloonat Diyay sits in the Qatari flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 6

800 gChicken Thigh

2Onion

6 clovesGarlic

4 + 2 tbsp pasteTomato

500 gPotato

1 red + 1 greenBell Pepper

1 (optional)Chili Pepper

How it's made

10 steps · 25 min active + 35 min waiting

1
4 min
Cube 800 g bone-in chicken thighs into 4-cm pieces.
2
9 min
In a large pot, heat 3 tbsp ghee. Add 2 chopped onions + 6 minced garlic; cook 8 min.
3
7 min
Add chicken; brown 6 min.
Watch out
Brown the chicken pieces until the outsides catch color before the spices go in — that seared surface is where the stew's depth comes from.
4
3 min
Add 1 tbsp baharat + 1 tsp turmeric + 1 tsp cumin + 1 tsp coriander + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp black pepper; cook 2 min.
5
6 min
Add 4 chopped tomatoes + 2 tbsp tomato paste + 1 dried loomi (punctured) + 1 chopped chili (optional); cook 5 min.
Watch out
Puncture the dried loomi before it goes in so its sour perfume seeps into the broth — whole and sealed, it just bobs there doing nothing.
6
38 min
Add 1.2 L chicken stock; simmer covered 35 min.
7
5 min
Add 500 g potatoes (cubed) + 1 chopped red bell pepper + 1 chopped green bell pepper.
Watch out
Add the potatoes and peppers only in the last stretch — put them in too early and they collapse to mush before the chicken is done.
8
22 min
Continue simmering 20-25 min until potatoes are tender.
9
2 min
Stir in 2 tbsp chopped cilantro + 2 tbsp chopped parsley + 1 tbsp lime juice.
10
4 min
Serve in deep bowls with rice or khubz flatbread. Drink with mint tea.