Tabit
Tabit is the hamin of Iraqi Jews: a whole chicken over rice spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and baharat, cooked slowly all night until the rice at the bottom forms a golden crust.
IllustrationIn the homes of Baghdadi Jews, tabit went onto the hotplate on Friday, and at Shabbat noon the pot gave up a chicken soft enough to fall apart, rice soaked in its fat, and brown eggs.
Some of the rice goes inside the chicken as stuffing and the rest cooks underneath it. The golden crust that forms at the bottom of the pot is the part everyone waits for.
The recipe
Ingredients
| The pot | |
| Whole chicken | 1,800 g |
| Rice | 500 g |
| Eggs in the shell | 8 |
| Onion | 150 g |
| Flavour | |
| Tomato paste | 30 g |
| Ground cardamom | 2 g |
| Cinnamon | 3 g |
| Baharat | 5 g |
| Turmeric | 3 g |
| Oil | 60 ml |
| Salt | 15 g |
| Water | 1 l |
Method
- Rinse the rice and soak it for half an hour.
- Fry the onion in the oil until golden, add the tomato paste and spices and fry for another minute.
- Mix the rice with the onion mixture, stuff part of it into the chicken, and brown the chicken on all sides.
- Spread the rest of the rice at the bottom of the pot, set the chicken and the eggs in their shells on top, and add water until the rice is covered.
- Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and cook on very low heat or in an oven at 100 °C for 10 to 12 hours.
Chicken stuffed with rice, in grams
The make-up of chicken stuffed with rice and herbs, the base of tabit.
Chicken stuffed with rice and herbs1,203 g of ingredients · 195 kcal per 100 g cooked
| Ingredient | g | of pot | of energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 500 | 42% | 0% |
| Cooked chicken thigh with skin | 400 | 33% | 43% |
| White rice | 250 | 21% | 44% |
| Canola oil | 30 | 2% | 13% |
| Fresh coriander | 10 | 1% | 0% |
| Fresh dill | 10 | 1% | 0% |
| Salt | 3 | 0% | 0% |
Nutrition values, per 100 g
Chicken stuffed with rice, and red rice like the bottom of the pot
| Type | kcal | Protein, g | Fat, g | Carbs, g | Fibre, g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken stuffed with rice and herbs | 195 | 10 | 8.4 | 18.5 | 0.3 |
| Red rice with tomato paste and onion | 149 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 22.3 | 0.7 |
Tabit for any number of people
Change the number of people and the portion size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost of the pot and the calories per portion.
| Ingredient | Amount | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| The pot | ||
| Whole chicken | 1.8 kg | ₪41 |
| Rice | 500 g | ₪5.5 |
| Eggs in the shell | 480 g · 8 pcs | ₪12 |
| Onion | 150 g | ₪0.9 |
| Tomato paste | 30 g | ₪1.1 |
| Ground cardamom | 2 g | ₪0.6 |
| Cinnamon | 3 g | ₪0.4 |
| Baharat | 5 g | ₪0.6 |
| Turmeric | 3 g | ₪0.3 |
| Oil | 60 g | ₪0.9 |
| Salt | 15 g | ₪0.0 |
| Water | 1 kg | |
Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.
What the ingredients of Tabit cost
What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.
| Ingredient | Price | In this pot | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole chicken | ₪23 per kg | ₪41 | Supermarket |
| Eggs in the shell | ₪1.4 each | ₪12 | Supermarket |
| Rice | ₪11 per kg | ₪5.5 | Supermarket |
| Tomato paste | ₪35 per kg | ₪1.1 | Supermarket |
| Oil | ₪15 per litre | ₪0.9 | Supermarket |
| Onion | ₪5.9 per kg | ₪0.9 | Greengrocer |
| Ground cardamom | ₪300 per kg | ₪0.6 | Spice shop |
| Baharat | ₪119 per kg | ₪0.6 | Supermarket |
| Cinnamon | ₪140 per kg | ₪0.4 | Supermarket |
| Turmeric | ₪86 per kg | ₪0.3 | Supermarket |
| Salt | ₪2.1 per kg | ₪0 | Supermarket |
Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.
Order Tabit for Shabbat
A ready pot for Shabbat, ordered by Wednesday 20:00.
- Cooked to order, for Shabbat or an event.
- Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
- Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
What goes in the pot
Where to buy meat and vegetables for the pot
Fresh meat from the butcher and vegetables from the greengrocer. Zoom in to see every shop’s name without a click.
In view now
Tabit for Shabbat
How many people, when and what budget. We send a proposal for group and office food.
Frequently asked questions
What is tabit made of?
A whole chicken, rice, onion, tomato paste, cardamom, cinnamon and baharat. Part of the rice stuffs the chicken and the rest cooks underneath it with eggs in their shells.
How long do you cook tabit?
10 to 12 hours on very low heat or in an oven at 100 °C, from Friday until Shabbat noon.
What is the difference between tabit and hamin?
Tabit is Iraqi hamin. Instead of beef and legumes it has a whole chicken and spiced rice.
How much does it cost to make Tabit at home?
A pot for 8 costs about ₪63 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪7.9 a person. A 450 g portion has about 724 kcal.
