I first heard about this recipe from my mom who had been talking about this “great chicken recipe that uses black lemons.” I had never made Saudi Arabian food before so I was looking forward to trying out a new dish. The recipe uses black lemons which is different from preserved lemons which I make pretty often. The black lemons are actually limes that are dried and turned black. They taste sour and citrusy, but the fact they are dried gives them a slightly smoky, fermented taste. The black lemons are used to flavor the dish like a bay leaf but aren’t really eaten (though they do soften up after cooking so I suppose you could eat them). The recipe is simple and takes roughly about 30 minutes to prepare. I loved how the black lemons flavored the chicken, tomatoes and onions. The chicken is served with rice and garnished with sauteed slivered almonds, golden raisins, onions and seasoned with cinnamon. All of the ingredients worked so well together and I have a feeling I will be exploring other ways to use that tasty almond and raisin garnish.
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