Name: Basic Broth (Maraqa)
Yield: Makes 5–6 cups (approximately 1.5 liters) of broth
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries; 2 dried bay leaves; ¼ cup (30 grams) flour; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 teaspoons salt (to taste); 2 pebbles of mastic, crushed with a little salt; Chicken parts, such as back, neck, and wings, or whole chicken cut into parts, skin removed; 3–4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns; 2 whole cloves; 1 teaspoon cardamom pods, gently crushed with a mortar and pestle; 1 very small piece cracked nutmeg; 1 sprig rosemary; 1 tablespoon salt; 1 medium onion, roughly chopped; 1 lemon, juiced, and rind reserved

Preparation info

Makes
5–6 cups
of broth

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Gaza Kitchen

By Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt

Published 2021

About

A good basic broth, rich with spices, is key to some of Gaza’s (and indeed the entire region’s) most elaborate festive dishes like fatta or maqlooba. It also makes a delicious base for humbler fare like mulukhiyya, fogaiyya, or shorabit freekah.

For soups, this broth is often made with the less meaty parts of a chicken: the back, neck, and wings or head. For special occasions the whole animal is used. The meat, tender and perfumed with spices after