Saffron Joojeh Chicken Thighs Skillet

Ingredients

• 2 lb Chicken Thighs
• ½ cup thick yogurt
• Big pinch of saffron, steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
• 1 onion, grated (juice and all)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp butter or oil
• Salt and black pepper
• Steamed rice and sumac, to serve
• Charred tomatoes (optional but traditional)

Method

1. Steep the saffron in the hot water 5 minutes — it should look like liquid amber. This tiny cup carries the whole dish.
2. Whisk the yogurt with the grated onion, lemon juice, half the saffron water, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Coat the Chicken Thighs and marinate 15 minutes (or up to overnight).
3. Heat the butter in a wide skillet over medium-high. Shake excess marinade off the Chicken Thighs and sear 5–6 minutes per side until burnished gold and cooked through (165°F for chicken).
4. Off the heat, pour the remaining saffron water over — it perfumes the crust and stains it amber.
5. Serve over rice with sumac dusted on top and charred tomatoes alongside. A pat of butter melting into saffron rice is not optional in any meaningful sense.